=== MEN’S SINGLES ===
INTRO: The Men’s Singles field was loaded! The top nine seeds had all been in at least one Singles final since last December, and they had won all but one of those tournaments.
BLOWN UP BRACKETS: Only two of the top eight seeds made it to the quarterfinals.
#3 CONNOR GARNETT:
- Beat the top seed Federico Staksrud 11-7, 11-5 in the semis.
- Won the Los Angeles Open in April, vs Federico Staksrud.
- Won his second career title in Kansas City, against Tyson McGuffin. Authored a rare “golden pickle” in Game One of that match.
#20 HUNTER JOHNSON:
- Beat three former champions, Gabe Joseph, Tyson McGuffin and JW Johnson.
- His first final since winning a silver in September 2022. (Lost to McGuffin)
- Won a bronze at the Utah Open three weeks ago, against Rafa Hewett.
Bronze:
#1 Federico Staksrud:
- Has earned a medal in every tournament this year except Kansas City. (7 gold, 8 silver, and one bronze)
- Beat Dylan Frazier in the Las Vegas final after losing to him at The Masters final.
- His eleven career men’s singles titles are second only to Ben Johns.
#11 JW Johnson:
- Five-time PPA Singles champion.
- Lost to Staksrud in the Sacramento Final in June; his only singles medal this year.
=== WOMEN’S SINGLES ===
INTRO: In the Women’s Singles field, the top eight seeds were all former PPA champions, and seven of the eight had won this year!
CHALK: Seven of the top eight seeds made it to the quarterfinals.
#1 ANNA LEIGH WATERS:
- A dominant run, allowing only 26 points in eight games, and had “pickles” over Salome Devidze and Brooke Buckner.
- She has won eight titles this year.
- She is 40-3 in singles finals. Two of those three losses were in 2021 (Parenteau, Jansen). The other was to Parris Todd in 2022.
- Waters is 29-0 in Finals since losing to Todd in June of 2022 in Orange County.
#7 PARRIS TODD:
- One of only three players to beat Waters in a final. (June 2022) . The others are Catherine Parenteau and Lea Jansen, both in 2021.
- Beat three former Singles champions in succession to reach the final. (Kate Fahey, Mary Brascia, Lea Jansen).
- Two silvers this year, including one against Waters here in Atlanta in May, losing in three games. (12-10, 10-12, 11-5).
Bronze:
#3 Brooke Buckner:
- This year she became the first back-to-back champion other that Anna Leigh Waters since Catherine Parenteau did it in February and March of 2023.
- Won at Bristol and Kansas City back-to-back, and also Los Angeles.
#2 Lea Jansen:
- Her four career Singles titles puts her fourth all-time behind Waters (40), Catherine Parenteau (9), and Simone Jardim (6).
- She has two titles this year: the Houston Open in April and the Texas Open in June, which was her last singles medal.
=== MIXED DOUBLES ===
SEEDS PLEASE: Six of the top eight seeds were in the quarterfinals.
#1 ANNA LEIGH WATERS and BEN JOHNS:
- Have 38 titles together. (Waters, 40 overall; Johns, 53 overall)
- They have 11 titles this year, including six tournaments in a row before sitting out Utah.
- They won eight consecutive tournaments from last August through February.
#4 CATHERINE PARENTEAU AND CHRISTIAN ALSHON:
- Lost to Waters and Johns in the final of the Orange County Cup in June, and were “pickled” in Game One of that three-game sweep.
- Parenteau is 0-9 in finals with various partners against Waters and Johns.
Bronze:
#3 Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson:
- Won their only title together in Newport Beach, April 2023.
- Forced Waters/Johns to their first career five-game final at Kansas City.
- Won a bronze two weeks ago in Las Vegas.
#14 Lacy Schneemann and Tyson McGuffin:
- Had two wins against former PPA champions, Bright and Ignatowich, and also Irvine and Tardio.
- Won a silver at the Newport Beach Shootout in April 2023.
=== MEN’S DOUBLES ===
BIG GUNS: Seven of the top eight seeds were in the quarterfinals.
#7 TYSON McGUFFIN and JAUME MARTINEZ VICH:
- Duo took silver at the LA Open in April, losing to the Johns brothers in five games. That was the Johns’ last title.
- They won a bronze medal at the Texas Open in June.
- McGuffin has not won a title since his Triple Crown effort at the T-O-C last August.
- McGuffin needs a title of any kind this year to join Ben Johns and Matt Wright with at least one title every year since 2020 (Lucy Kovalova and Riley Newman are the only other players who can do this)
- JMV is looking for his first career PPA title.
#2 BEN JOHNS and COLLIN JOHNS:
- They have five titles together this year, and 31 together overall.
- In title matches,17-2 since the start of 2023, and 31-7 overall.
- Got a bit of revenge against Andrei Daescu and Gabe Tardio in the quarterfinals (the Johns’ had lost to them twice this year) . They also beat Alshon and Newman in the semis, who they lost to in Las Vegas.
Bronze:
#1 Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson:
- Their ten career men’s doubles titles together are second only to the Johns brothers.
- Their five titles together this year are tied with the Johns brothers for the most on tour.
#8 Christian Alshon and Riley Newman:
- Won a bronze medal at the Las Vegas Cup in September. They beat the Johns brothers in the quarterfinals of that match.
- Won a bronze together at USA Pickleball’s National Championships in Dallas last November.
- Alshon has two titles this year, one with Quang Duong in Bristol and the other with Thomas Wilson at the Indoor Championships in Minnesota.
- Newman’s next title, whether it is in Doubles or Mixed, will be his 20th career title.
=== WOMEN’S DOUBLES ===
FAMILIAR FACES: Seven of the top eight seeds played in the quarterfinals.
#1 ANNA LEIGH WATERS and CATHERINE PARENTEAU:
- Have 22 titles together, including 11 this year.
- Won six straight tournaments before sitting out Utah.
- Waters won all 17 tournaments she entered in 2023; 10 with Parenteau, 7 with Bright.
#2 ANNA BRIGHT and RACHEL ROHRABACHER:
- They have five titles this year.
- Their three silver medals this year are all against Parenteau and Waters in the finals.
- Beat Parenteau and Waters in four games for the Austin Open title in March, that team’s only loss. It also stopped Waters’ 22-match winning streak.
Bronze:
#4 Lucy Kovalova and Callie Smith:
- Kovalova and Smith have two silver medals this year, and eight career PPA titles together.
- Their last title was at Newport Beach in April 2023.
- Kovalova has 21 Women’s Doubles gold medals, third all-time behind Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau.
- Kovalova is a trailblazer: She won the first-ever PPA Women’s Doubles tournament on record, the Mesa Grand Slam in February of 2020, playing with Simone Jardim.
#8 Jackie Kawamoto and Lacy Schneemann:
- Kawamoto won a Mixed Doubles bronze medal with Christian Alshon at the Houston Open this year.
- Kawamoto won a silver at the Houston Open with Vivienne David.
- Schneemann and -Jade- Kawamoto lost in the final to Parenteau/Waters in Kansas City.
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