The Tournament of Champions in Brigham City, Utah is happening this week on the PPA, and here are a few players and storylines to keep an eye on.
Riley Newman
Is this the tournament Newman finally goes gold?
Ever since announcing his split with long-time and successful doubles partner Matt Wright, Newman has yet to get to the medal stand in men’s doubles.
And yes, it hasn’t been that long, obviously, as the break-up happened in June, but Newman has been a prolific winner on tour and to not see him on the podium for any medal is a bit odd. How odd! The last time Newman went three-consecutive tournaments without getting a medal was February-March, 2021.
Newman will be playing alongside A.J. Koller in a field that doesn’t have the Johns brothers or Dylan Frazier and J.W. Johnson playing together. The Johns brothers are skipping the tournament and Frazier, who has won the past two PPA golds in men’s doubles, alongside Johnson, is playing with Andrei Daescu.
Black to Black and Golden Gabe
Anna Leigh Waters won’t be in Utah for the TOC, but Tyra Black will and we’ll get to see her go for two singles titles in a row. She beat Waters last time out in the quarterfinals of the Takeya Showcase.
This time she’ll be in a field that includes Catherine Parenteau, who will likely be the No. 1 seed. Parenteau is returning from some time off. Meanwhile, Yana Newell, who Black beat in the final at Takeya, will be at TOC, as will Judit Castillo, Irina Tereschenko, and Lauren Stratman, all of who have medaled in the past several tournaments.
In the men’s singles draw, Gabriel Joseph was the upset, underdog winner last time out. He’s back in the field and it will be interesting to see how he fares this time in a different role. Even without Johns in the field, it’s loaded. Federico Staksrud, Tyson McGuffin, Jay Devilliers, Christian Alshon, and several others will be there.
Mixed Bag
It’s been since April since Waters hasn’t won a mixed doubles title. In that span, she’s won once with Jack Sock and six times with Ben Johns.
But she’s not going to be in Utah, so who will it be that takes gold? How about James Ignatowich and Anna Bright? The two were golden at the Red Rock Open back in April. But what makes them a logical pick is that both are used to being successful on the center court.
Bright has won seven times this year alongside Waters and Ignatowich has won two silvers and two bronzes as well alongside Bright.
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