APP Sunmed Sacramento Open Recap

In a thrilling Championship Sunday at the 2023 APP Sunmed Sacramento Open, Judit Castillo, Yates Johnson, Parris Todd, Simone Jardim, Andrei Daescu, Pesa Teoni and Susannah Barr took home gold medals in front of a packed crowd at Johnson Ranch Pickleball Complex.

Castillo and Yates Johnson each claimed their first career gold medals after their respective singles performances. Todd and Jardim stayed hot with their fourth women’s doubles golds in four tournaments. Daescu and Teoni won an exciting men’s pro doubles final, resulting in Daescu’s fourth straight and Teoni’s second straight gold medals. Daescu and Barr then defended their mixed pro doubles titles to conclude the tournament.

More than 700 pro and amateur players took part in the five-day APP Sunmed Sacramento Open, the APP’s fourth tournament of the 2023 season. Championship Sunday highlights will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Monday, May 1 at 7 pm ET, showcasing five incredible matches across men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and the concluding mixed doubles match.

Megan Fudge withdrew from the day’s opening women’s pro singles match due to illness, with opponent Judit Castillo therefore winning her first-ever gold. Jess Warren had a terrific singles day run to earn the bronze medal.

“First, what’s most important is that Megan [Fudge] is healthy – I appreciate her giving me a heads up on the situation and the communication with her and the APP was very thoughtful,” said Castillo. “ It’s not the way I thought I’d win my first gold medal, but I think that’s a sign that there’s more to come. I want to shout out to my Shreveport [Louisiana] crew and my friends back home in Spain along with my family – they’ve all been so supportive on my journey. There were a lot of people behind this gold medal for sure.”

It was the battle of the Johnson brothers for men’s pro singles gold, and Yates came out strong, winning game one 11-7. Hunter responded with an 11-8 win in the second game, but Yates regained the momentum in game three, winning 11-7 to secure his first career pro gold medal. The win marked Yates’ sixth medal of the 2023 season, while Hunter’s silver increased his season total to 10 – leading all APP Tour pros on the year. Brandon Lane earned the bronze medal on Thursday.

“It was awesome to get that win,” commented Yates Johnson. “It’s always fun to compete against your own twin brother – we’ve had a lot of close battles over the years and this one means a lot. I’ve been waiting all year for this – Hunter’s gotten a couple of golds over me this year – so it feels good to get him back and win my first career gold. The California fans were great, and it always helps when there’s a big crowd cheering you on and supporting you.”

In the women’s pro doubles final, Fudge and Bobbi Oshiro started strong with an 11-6 win in game one against the top-seeded Jardim and Todd. The defending champions stormed back from there, taking game two 11-4 and game three 11-2 to secure their fourth-straight gold and continue their remarkable run. Genie Erokhina and Rianna Valdes claimed bronze medals on Saturday.

“We have more and more confidence each time we play with each other,” Jardim said after her fourth-straight gold with Todd. “Parris wanting to play together this season has really sparked me back into the game in a way. I needed that more than she knows. That sense of being back on the court, practicing, wanting to get better and continue winning has everything to do with this partnership. She knows I’m there for her, and she’s there to pick me up – I’m just happy to be competing every single tournament.”

“It’s always great playing with Simone,” said Todd. “We’ve had such a great run this year and we’re always looking to keep moving forward. We have a great relationship on and off the court, and we love battling together. The fans on Championship Court were great – it’s always fun to have a full house on Championship Sunday – that keeps us motivated. We’re very grateful for the support.”

After a thrilling win at the APP Mesa Open, Daescu and Teoni set to defend their men’s pro doubles title against Ryler DeHeart and Rob Nunnery. A tight game one went to DeHeart and Nunnery, 11-9, before Daescu and Teoni responded with an 11-4 win in game two. DeHeart and Nunnery jumped out to a 7-0 lead in game three before eventually winning 11-9 to force a tiebreaker. Daescu and Teoni took control from there, winning the tiebreaker 15-7 to claim their second-straight gold medals.

DeHeart claimed his second medal of the 2023 season, and Nunnery earned his first medal of the year. Stefan Auvergne and Brendon Long took home the bronze medals on Saturday.

“The win means a lot,” said Teoni, who claimed his second-straight gold after winning his first-ever medal in Mesa. “Andrei is so easy to play with, he always brings the energy. The atmosphere was amazing, there were a lot of fans cheering – their energy gets you up and helps a lot on the court.”

“It took us a little bit to get going today,” Daescu commented. “DeHeart and Nunnery were able to take the fight to us and take the first match. Pesa and I had a nice chat over the break, and we knew we had to come out firing like we did in Mesa. Pesa’s a beast and I feed off of him, and that’s what makes our partnership so great.”

In a rematch from the 2023 APP Mesa Open, the mixed pro doubles final pitted Barr and Daescu against Todd and Hunter Johnson. Barr and Daescu won a close game one, 11-8, before a dominant 11-1 win in game two earned the duo their second-straight gold medals. Shelby Bates and Ryler DeHeart earned bronze medals after their Friday performances.

“Susannah’s been playing lights out,” said Daescu after his second gold medal of the day. I think our personalities and our energy match very well – I feed off her energy quite a bit and she feeds off of mine. We never get down no matter how we play, we bounce back right away and I just love that kind of energy. I’m really thankful that she’s been my partner and hopefully we can connect for some more.”

“Playing with Andrei is the best,” commented Barr. “We have such good energy, we’re both really competitive but we’re also positive with each other, so it’s been super fun. He’s a great partner and I hope we can be out here on Championship Court a million more times.”

In APP Tour senior pro action in Sacramento, Stefan Andren and Mircea Morariu took home senior men’s doubles gold, Beth Bellamy and Nathalie Bagby earned another women’s doubles title, Bellamy and Morariu teamed up for senior mixed gold, and Vincent Van Patten won senior men’s singles gold.

The APP travels to Cincinnati for its fifth event of the year, the APP Vlasic Classic, May 9-14 at Sawyer Point. Full tournament information can be found on PickleballTournaments.com.