The UPA contracts of James Ignatowich, Vivian Glozman, and Ryan Fu have been terminated "effective immediately" following their participation in multiple unsanctioned events.

All three players are currently in Japan, and were part of a series of clinics and exhibitions hosted by the Pickleball Japan Federation in Tokyo’s Ariake Tennis Park earlier this week.

"Effective immediately, the United Pickleball Association has terminated the contracts of players Ryan Fu, Vivian Glozman, and James Ignatowich," the UPA posted on Instagram Wednesday afternoon.

"The terms of each player’s contract are confidential, however, participating in competitor events is a black-and-white violation of UPA agreements."

Parris Todd was also reportedly in attendance, but her situation is under review.

"Leadership is still reviewing the full details, and discussions are ongoing regarding the appropriate consequence - which could range from a fine to a suspension to, if warranted, termination," the UPA said in regards to Todd.

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Why were the contracts terminated?

The four players in question reportedly participated in a "competitor" event, which is grounds for contract termination, just like Quang Duong earlier in the year (see below).

All four pros are listed on marketing materials for clinics and exhibitions hosted by the Pickleball Japan Federation this week.

An image taken from a Pickleball Japan Federation Instagram post.

It's unclear why these particular pros participated in this particular event.

But UPA's stance on the matter is firm: "Participating in competitor events is a black-and-white violation of UPA agreements."

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Who had their contract terminated:

James Ignatowich

MLP Team - Chicago Slice
Men's Doubles PPA Rank - 23rd
Men's Mixed Doubles PPA Rank - T-11th
Men's Singles PPA Rank - 40th

Vivian Glozman

MLP Team - Chicago Slice

I did not list Glozman's PPA ranking, as she has not played on the PPA Tour since PPA Mesa in February. Glozman was on an MLP only contract, and has not played on the PPA Tour in 10 months.

Ryan Fu

MLP Team - SoCal Hard Eights
Men's Doubles PPA Rank - 37th
Men's Mixed Doubles PPA Rank - T-34th
Men's Singles PPA Rank - 39th

Why is Parris Todd's contract under review?

Directly from a league statement:

"Parris Todd also participated in this event after initially reaching out for permission to do so, with incomplete context. Leadership is still reviewing the full details, and discussions are ongoing regarding the appropriate consequence - which could range from a fine to a suspension to, if warranted, termination. We will communicate the final outcome once that decision is made."

So it seems Todd reached out to the league for permission to participate, but didn't provide – or didn't have – all the details.

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Ryan Fu responds on X

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MLP Commissioner and UPA Chief Strategy Officer Samin Odhwani responds

Ryan — your post leaves out material facts. To be clear, you didn’t submit the approval request — James submitted it on your behalf. And what he submitted was not accurate.

The request stated:
“Clinics and potentially a free exhibition.” “No potential conflicting… pic.twitter.com/nUQ73svZuM
— Samin Odhwani (@SaminOdhwani) December 11, 2025

Here's the full text of his response:

Ryan — your post leaves out material facts. To be clear, you didn’t submit the approval request — James submitted it on your behalf. And what he submitted was not accurate.

The request stated:
“Clinics and potentially a free exhibition.” “No potential conflicting partners.”Hosted by “a local couple who love pickleball.” Pros attending: Tyra, Max, Ryan Fu.“No tournament, no prize money.”

For clarity: we are fully supportive of the Pickleball Japan Federation and want to collaborate with them the right way. The issue is that the approval request described this as a small, informal trip hosted by “a local couple,” when in reality it was a federation-run, commercially sponsored event — which simply requires proper approval and sanctioning.

The request said everything would be free. In reality:
$150 per person for clinics
And the exhibition (“Challenge the Pros”) cost $20 per ticket, not free. (Screenshots below)

The request also stated explicitly: “No tournament.” But the Japan event did include a tournament — and the PickleballTournaments listing shows 1,200+ registered participants. This was a full-scale event.

The pros listed for approval were not the pros who actually went. The real group was James, Ryan, Vivian, and Parris — completely different from the list submitted.

The event also used PPA and MLP branding in marketing without approval. We’re always open to working with international organizers and would’ve gladly sanctioned this properly. But transparency and accuracy matter — especially when representing the league, its partners, and its athletes.

What this means

These three players will now have to figure out what to do in pickleball. We know James Ignatowich just launched his new paddle brand, "RPM," about two months ago:

Fu, who is very good friends with Ignatowich, also helps with clinics and plays with the RPM paddle. There are other tours to go play on, but the pay probably won't be comparable to the pay these three were receiving from the UPA annually.

Additionally, the Chicago Slice and SoCal Hard Eights are no longer going to have the services of these three players. They will need to draft replacement in the upcoming 2026 MLP Draft (Date TBD).

Finally, many players have partners for multiple tournaments. The partners of Fu and Ignatowich are now going to be scrambling for new partners for The Masters tournament in January and the entirety of early 2026 tournaments.

Zane Navratil Weighs In

Sounding familiar?

If this is all sounding a bit familiar… it should. The UPA went through something similar over the summer with Quang Duong. We covered that incident extensively: