OVERALL TOP 5:
- THAT 70’S SHOW: Perfect weather in Orange County with highs in the mid 70s.
- 3’S COMPANY: Anna Leigh Waters is defending her triple crown from 2023.
- ROAR-A-BACHER: Rachel is back in the singles draw and looking for huge results in doubles.
- CHANCE OF A LIFE TIME: Prestigious title to win at one of the sport’s most iconic venues.
- MY CUP RUNNETH OVER 1500 TIMES: A Cup is worth 1,500 points to the winner, coveted for seeding and qualifying for the year end CIBC PPA Finals.
VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:
- Event #13 of the year – one of the Cups and a Progressive draw (play each discipline each day).
- First of two trips to San Clemente – back for the CIBC PPA Finals in December.
- Broadcast start times are 11am Pacific Wednesday through Sunday.
- National windows: Wednesday night on ESPN2 from 8-10 Eastern and Championship Sunday on Tennis Channel from 2-8 Eastern.
- Coverage on Pickleball TV (Prime Video, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, and many more).
WOMEN’S SINGLES:
- Defending medalists: Waters, Parenteau, Castillo
- ALW has but one loss in singles all year.
- Bouchard (23) vs. Tereschenko (13) potential tennis star vs. pickle OG matchup in round of 32.
- Parenteau (2) still mining for gold in singles in ’24.
- WATCH OUT FOR: Judit Castillo (8), ’23 bronze medalist, can she make a deep run?
MEN’S SINGLES:
- Defending medalists: McGuffin, Garnett, Shick
- Staksrud is back to the top seed and brings double gold in his luggage from Sacramento.
- Gabe Joseph (8) is always dangerous in California – he won at Los Cab in ’23.
- Ben Johns is undefeated as a 2 seed, winning in Atlanta – will he strike again?
- WATCH OUT FOR: Chris Haworth (11) – only player to beat Fed before Sunday all year and just missed gold against Johns in Texas.
MIXED DOUBLES:
- Defending medalists: Waters/Johns, Parenteau/McGuffin, Bright/Ignatowich
- Ben Johns goes for his 50th mixed doubles title, a record by a mile (ALW is at 36).
- Lea Jansen and Riley Newman (5) team up with firepower galore – can they gel?
- No Viv David or Thomas Wilson in this tournament.
- WATCH OUT FOR: Parenteau/Alshon (7) – 2nd tourney for these two with Sock out of the draw – lost to ALW/Johns at Desert Ridge 11-6 in the 3rd in the quarters.
WOMEN’S DOUBLES:
- Defending medalists: Bright/Waters, Tereschenko/Wright, Kovalova/Smith
- Bright and Rohrabacher (2) got rocked by Waters/Parenteau (1) in Sacramento – won just 8 points in a 3/5. Would like another shot (but a lot of pickle to be played for this rematch).
- Dizon and Wright (4) are back as Dizon has recovered from her illness that caused her to scratch in Sacramento.
- Brascias (11) in their backyard have a potentially tough round of 16 vs. Black/Todd (5).
- WATCH OUT FOR: Buckner/Wang (13) – can they pull off an upset?
MEN’S DOUBLES:
- Defending medalists: Johns/Johns, Newman/Wright, Ignatowich/McGuffin
- Johns brothers (1) won 3 straight in April but haven’t hit the top of the podium since.
- Wright/Staksrud (3) back for a second drive, grabbed silver in Atlanta.
- Navratil/Newman (8) are quite the dangerous combo in their first PPA event.
- WATCH OUT FOR: Patriquin/Tellez (5) – big H wants to build on his first PPA gold with the lefty Tellez – tough quarter with a motivated Johns duo.
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