Three Medals For Staksrud And Waters At Pickleball World Championships

Men’s Pro Singles Recap

For the first time that I can remember, the Men’s singles qualifying went exactly chalk. The top eight seeded qualifiers all moved into the main draw as expected, headlined by US Open champ Jack Foster, 16-yr old sensation John Lucian Goins, and Kitchen Open winner Claudio Quinones Garcia. The round of 64 promised to be even tougher than expected with all the top talent qualifiers moving into the main draw.

As is often the case in these big Grand Slam singles events, we saw some significant upsets early. Foster immediately took out #16 Roddy before falling to Noe Khlif in the 32s. Former German junior tennis star #52 Oliver Frank went one better, taking out established singles pros #14 Collin Shick and then #18 Donald Young before falling in three games to #3 Connor Garnett. #54 Goins took out #10 Pablo Tellez before falling to fellow teenager #19 Grayson Goldin in the 32s.

However, the biggest pre-weekend result was #21 Michael Loyd playing, in his words, “the match of his life” to take out #2 Ben Johns 3,9 in the round of 16. It’s the fourth time this year Johns has lost in the round of 16, each time to a different up-and-coming pro. The only other top eight seed not to advance into the quarters as expected was #6 Dylan Frazier, who was ousted by his doubles partner and (frankly) underseeded #11 JW Johnson to set up a star-studded weekend of singles action.

Loyd did not suffer from “biggest win of my career letdown” in the next round, playing JW Johnson tough and advancing in two into the semis. Also heading into the semis were #5 Quong Duong (who crushed #4 McGuffin 5,3) and #1 Federico Staksrud (who eased past #7 Vich in a battle of the tour’s two best athletes). The final four was filled out by #8 Hunter Johnson, who pickled #3 Garnett in game one and held on for a 0,10 win.

In the semis, #1 Staksrud held off Hunter Johnson, who loses but solidifies his top -8 status for the Tour finals in December. In the bottom semi, Loyd guaranteed his first ever pro medal with a solid 7,8 win over Las Vegas gold medalist Duong. In the final, Loyd’s magic finally met its match as Staksrud won his 8th gold medal of the season with a 3,7 win.

Gold: Federico Staksrud. Silver: Michael Loyd. Bronze: Hunter Johnson.

Women’s Pro Singles Recap

The continued evolution of tennis converts pouring into the Women’s singles game was on display early in Dallas, as the likes of Genie Bouchard and Layne Sleeth got big wins early over established pros. #19 Sleeth took out #16 Dominique Schaefer before getting trounced by #1 Anna Leigh Waters in the 16s, while Bouchard got a very respectable win over #11 Lacy Schneemann before falling to #6 Kaitlyn Christian. Lastly, #42 Alexa Schull (who is barely old enough to drive) toppled #12 Lina Padegimaite before falling in the 16s to tournament favorite #5 Devidze.

The biggest upset news of the early rounds happened on Thursday, when #2 Brooke Buckner, winner of three golds and seven medals just in 2024, was taken out by Texan Samantha Parker in the round of 16. Parker shouldn’t have been a surprise to the tour; she made a deep run to the silver medal in singles in Houston earlier this year and more than earned her quarter final appearance in the Metroplex (where she went to college at UT-Dallas).

In the quarters, #1 Waters dominated #10 Judit Castillo, blanking her in game two to win 7,0. #4 Parenteau, who is out of the top two for the first time in since mid-2023, edged #6 Christian 12-10, 13-11 in a match that could have gone either way. #18 Parker couldn’t keep her run going after her big quarters win and fell easily to #5 Salome Devidze 7,5. Lastly, #9 Kate Fahey continued her run and her push for the tour finals with a fantastic 14-12 game three win over #3 Lea Jansen to earn a semifinals spot.

In the top semi, Waters crushed Parenteau 2,3 in what might be the new normal on tour, now that Catherine has fallen out of the top two. In the bottom semi, Fahey ground out a solid win over the always-tough Devidze 10,4 to set up the final that everyone wanted. In the final, the third meeting between the current #1 and the hottest player on tour in the last two months, Fahey made it a much closer match than their two previous meetings but still fell 7,8 to give Waters another title. Nonetheless, the 1,600 points earned for the silver medal will catapult Fahey deep into the top 8 and qualify her for the Tour Finals.

Gold: Anna Leigh Waters. Silver: Kate Fahey. Bronze: Salome Devidze.

Mixed Pro Doubles Recap

As we saw for the most part with the gender doubles draw, the Mixed draw was very top-seed heavy by the weekend, and we saw precious few upsets early on. We did get one qualifier taking out a top seed in the 64s: #52 Etienne Blaszkewycz & Maria Klokotzky shocked #14 Jack Sock & Callie Smith in three games, as Sock continues to struggle in his post-Parenteau breakup. Blaszkewycz & Klokotzky nearly scored another upset in the 32s, but fell 12-10 in the third to #21 Collin Johns & Allyce Jones.

There were a couple of other interesting early round results: #24 Auggie Ge & Lina Padegimaite took out #16 Arnold & Stratman with relative ease; these two may have negotiated their PPA contracts better than anyone, but their profiles have taken a hit by skipping out on MLP and continuing to struggle to get results on tour. #19 Dylan Frazier & Vivian Glozman demonstrated the depth in the Mixed Pro division by topping #12 Lacy Schneemann & Gabriel Tardio. Lastly, in a battle of on & off court pairs, #22 Parris Todd & Hunter Johnson toppled #15 Matt Wright & Lucy Kovalova 5,6. Wright & Kovalova’s slip down the leaderboard on tour continues; a year ago at this time they made the semis of the Tour Finals mixed pro event; now they’re losing in the round of 32 together.

There was just one upset in the 16s; seven of the top eight seeded teams advanced into the quarters. The one exception is notable: #3 James Ignatowich & Vivienne David were edged out by the intriguing team of #17 Noe Khlif & Lea Jansen 12-10 in the third. Ignatowich and his former partner Anna Bright had a well-publicized breakup in August, and both have struggled to get results since parting ways. On paper, an Ignatowich partnership with David (widely considered one of the best right-sided women on tour) should be a juggernaut; instead they’re ousted by the up and coming Khlif, who is having an excellent tournament.

In the quarters, #1 Johns (in his sole remaining division) & Waters cruised past #6 Newman & Parenteau with little trouble. #4 Bright & new partner Duong battered their way through #7 Bar & Pisnik 8,7 in a match that didn’t seem as close as the score line indicated. If you want a lesson in how abject power can be used to win, just watch Duong play. From the bottom half, the Johnson siblings, who came in at the #2 seeds this event, were easily handled by my pick for the 2nd best mixed team in the land right now, #8 Staksrud & Rohrabacher. Lastly, #5 Wright & Alshon eased past the upset-minded Khlif/Jansen team to set up a semi-finals clash of styles.

In the top semi, Johns & Waters showed that Bright & Duong have a ways go, crushing them 1,6. In the bottom semi, Alshon & Wright put a halt to the Staksrud/Rohrabacher freight train, winning 4,9 to earn the Sunday gold medal spot. In the final, Johns & Waters remained undefeated in 2024 and captured their 42nd Mixed doubles gold together. Their last loss as a team was in the group stage of last year’s tour Finals, an event they went on to win anyway, and Mixed Pro remains a division that the rest of the tour is playing catch-up in.

Gold: Johns & Waters. Silver: Alshon & Wright. Bronze: xxx.

Men’s Pro Doubles Recap

At grand slams, the cream tends to rise to the top of the doubles division, as top players endeavor to secure their best possible partners. In Dallas, a top-seed heavy progression draw laid itself out by weeks’ end, but not without a few notable teams making early runs. Noe Khlif teamed with fellow MLP challenger Blaine Hovenier to take out #15 Fought & Koller in the 32s, and the North Carolina boys #20 Jack Sock & Collin Shick took out #13 Teoni & Johnson early as well.

However, nothing could prepare the neutrals for what unfolded under the lights late on Thursday night. #1 Ben Johns, who had lost in singles earlier in the day, seemed completely out of sync with his brother Collin and got trounced in the round of 16 by the teen-aged duo of #14 Quang Duong & CJ Klinger 1,6. The 11-1 game was an immediate warning sign that the notoriously slow starting Johns team might need to shake some cobwebs loose, but they didn’t immediately turn things around in the much-closer game two. At the end, they netted a couple of listless ground stroke returns to give up match-point, then floated a volley return for a Klinger flying erne smash and a famous win. The Johns brothers likely will lose the #1 ranking heading into the last tourney and the Tour finals as a result.

The other interesting result in the early rounds was #10 Travis Rettenmaier & Zane Navratil teaming up to oust tourney favorite and 2-time gold medal winners #5 Andrei Daescu & Gabe Tardio in the round of 16. After grinding out a 13-11 win in game one, the pair cruised to an 11-4 game two win and moved on. The pair of competing podcast hosts took bronze together in April at Los Cab and are looking to get back to the podium.

In the quarters, Duong & Klinger showed their win over #1 wasn’t a fluke, downing the social-media darlings #8 Ignatowich & Alshon in two, #4 Dekel Bar & Pablo Tellez came from a game down to solve Team Tattoo #6 McGuffin & Vich to move on. #7 Riley Newman and Hayden Patriquin laid down the gauntlet to the draw, taking out #2 Johnson & Frazier in three. Lastly, the cardiac kids #3 Staksrud & Wright went to another game three to advance past team Podcast to set up a juicy semifinal.

In the semis, Duong & Klinger were finally set down, but not before one of the craziest pickleball rallies ever seen was played. At 6-5 in the first, (skip to 10:45 mark at this YouTube video), Duong miss-hit a volley that popped straight up in the air and barely cleared the net; Bar crushed an overhead but somehow Klinger not only retrieved the ball, but hit a passing shot that had both Bar & Tellez flailing to retrieve. The pairs then went on a 30+ shot rally that exhibited some of the best attacking/resetting play you’ll see in the modern game. From the bottom half, Newman & Patriquin dominated Wright & Staksrud in a grudge match between long-time partners.

In the final, Riley Newman returned to the champion’s circle for the first time since May of 2023 with a comprehensive win over Bar & Tellez. It was Patriquin’s third pro doubles gold since June. Staksrud & Wright salvaged the bronze, earning Federico a three-medal weekend.

Gold: Newman & Patriquin. Silver: Bar & Tellez. Bronze: Staksrud & Wright

Women’s Pro Doubles Recap

There was just one upset-by-seed in the round of 32 in Dallas, the round where the top 24 seeds commence playing, with #19 Allison Phillips & Olivia McMillan taking out the #14 seeded Walker sisters. Then, there was just one upset-by-seed in the round of 16 as well, with #12 Lina Padegimaite & Layne Sleeth surprising the #6 seeded team of Lacy Schneemann & Vivienne David in two. We just do not see the pace of players pouring into the women’s game as we do on the men’s side, and upsets seem few and far between.

This gave neutrals a juicy set of quarter final matches between top seeds. #1 Waters & Parenteau had little trouble moving past #8 Jorja Johnson & Glozman. #5 Tina Pisnik & Lea Jansen took a solid win over the veteran #4 Lucy Kovalova & Callie Smith. #2 Anna Bright & Rachel Rohrabacher were pushed but moved on against #12 Padegimaite & Sleeth. Lastly, #7 Hurricane Tyra Black helped partner Allyce Jones take a big step towards qualifying for the tour finals with a huge upset over #4 Etta Wright & Meghan Dizon to make the semis.

In the semis, Waters & Parenteau made fast work of Pisnik & Jansen, while #2 Bright & Rohrabacher did their part to earn the 1-versus-2 rematch everyone wanted with a come-from-behind win over Jones & Black.

The final was the fourth straight gold-medal meeting between the #1 and #2 teams on tour right now, and this time around Bright & Rohrabacher came out on top, cruising to a relatively straight-forward three game win 4,8,6. This is in sharp contrast to the epic final these two teams played just a couple weeks ago, and after such a long streak of invincibility it seems like perhaps the Waters/Parenteau stranglehold on #1 could be in near-term jeopardy. Jones & Black won the bronze, giving Jones in particular 1,200 ranking points, which should catapult her over several players ranked ahead of her who didn’t play Women’s Doubles in Dallas (Parris Todd, Jackie Kawamoto, and Jade Kawamoto) and firmly entrench herself in the top 16 ahead of the tour finals.

Gold: Bright & Rohrabacher. Silver: Waters & Parenteau. Bronze: Black & Jones.

Senior Open Competition Quick Recap

• Men’s Senior Open Singles: #1 seed and frequent senior singles gold medalist Mattias Johansson cruised through the draw and topped #3 Chip James for the gold. #2 seed Joshua Cooperman salvaged the bronze.
• Men’s Senior Open Doubles: Altaf Merchant & Steve Deakin won their 8th PPA Senior Doubles title in 2024, beating up on the competition while not dropping a game.
• Women’s Senior Open Singles: Jenny Marcos won the 5-player round robin group to claim her first PPA singles open title since Sept 2021.
• Women’s Senior Open Doubles: Tammie Steele & Jennifer Gallwas took the round robin Senior Open title.
• Mixed Senior Open Doubles: Julie Johnson & Steve Deakin won the Mixed title for the fourth time out of the last five PPA events.

Split Age Pro Competition Quick Recap

One of the “fun” events that happens at these major tournaments (popularized initially by the US Open crew) are “Split Age” competitions, where one 50+ players teams with a non-50+ player to compete side by side. There are two strategies for Split age: get the best senior pro you can find and try to win by going senior-versus-senior, or to grab the best “junior” pro you can find and try to basically win by playing 2-on-1.

As it turned out, the strategy of all four semi-finalists was the latter, with teams headed by Ben Johns, Noe Khlif, Gabe Tardio, and Tyler Loong into the semis. Johns, playing with PPA tour owner Tom Dundon, made the final from the top, while Tardio, playing with former MLP CEO and current UPA board member Brian Levine, made the final from the bottom. Tardio & Levine ended up with the gold, winning in three. Cason Campbell, playing with top senior pro Josh Cooperman, took the bronze.

The Pro Pickleball Medal Tracker has now been updated with these results; check out this link online for a complete pro medal history for all tours and all pro events dating to the beginnings of all the major pro tours, plus pro events that predated 2020.

Next up on the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, USAP Nationals kicks off by the time you read this in Mesa Arizona. Meanwhile, the PPA will send its stars up to Milwaukee on a quick turnaround for the Veolia Milwaukee Open starting on Thursday. October is a busy month.