The PPA Tour is back where it started, six years ago! The Mesa PPA event was the first PPA Tour event ever, in 2019.
The Round of 64 starts nine days after the PPA Tucson Open concluded, and the players are back in the Arizona desert for more action.
The Arizona Athletic Grounds is hosting the event. This is one of the best venues on tour, with a huge sunken championship court, four grandstand/showcase courts, and a total of 41 courts altogether.
Since this is a Cup, the winners are going to earn 1,500 PPA Points. This also means this event is a Progressive Draw. Players will play one match per event per day. So singles, mixed doubles, and gender doubles will happen every day.
Player Notes
Tyson McGuffin (hip injury) and Dominique Schaefer (illness) have withdrawn from this tournament.
Tyson was going to play singles, mixed doubles with Lacy Schneemann, and men's doubles with Dekel Bar.
Dominique was going to play singles, mixed doubles with Zane Ford, and women's doubles with Genie Erokhina.
Broadcast Schedule
Monday, February 17th - Pro Qualifiers
- No Streaming
Tuesday, February 18th - Round of 64
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
Wednesday, February 19th - Round of 32
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
Thursday, February 20th - Round of 16
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
Friday, February 21st - Quarterfinals
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
- 9pm - 11pm ET- Rd16/QF Replay - FS1
Saturday, February 8th - Semifinals
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 1pm - 9pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
- 10pm - Midnight ET- QF/SF Replay - FS1
Sunday, February 9th - Championship Sunday
- 11am - 5pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 10am - 2pm ET- Grandstand Court (Bronze Matches) - PickleballTV
- 8pm - 10pm ET- SF/Finals Replay - FS1
Weather Outlook
Perfect weather for pickleball is scheduled throughout the week, in Mesa! This is why the tour comes to Arizona in February. Highs are in the mid to upper 70’s throughout the event, no rain is forecasted, and winds are going to be a maximum of 8mph.
Let’s get into the action!
Women’s Singles
Top Storylines
- (1) Anna Leigh Waters skipped singles in Tucson, but is back playing singles again in Mesa.
- (7) Catherine Parenteau was the 2 seed here last year, but has fallen all the way to the 7 seed over the past year. What makes this even more difficult is the fact that Catherine is in the same side of the bracket as ALW, so they will face off in the quarterfinals if they both make it that far.
- The top right quarter of the bracket is going to be the toughest. (2) Kaitlyn Christian, (14) Genie Bouchard, (5) Parris Todd, and (9) Chao Yi “Zoey” Wang” could make for some phenomenal women’s Round of 16 matchups. If the top seeds make it, Christian v. Todd in the semis would be a repeat of the Tucson finals two weeks later.
- There are 19 women competing in the pro qualifiers, and there are 12 spots in the main draw. Of note, Sydney Steinaker, Content Manager for Major League Pickleball (MLP) and JOOLA sponsored player, is playing. I also expect AZ youngster, Jalina Ingram, to make it out of qualifying.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (6) Kate Fahey, (5) Parris Todd, and (3) Brooke Buckner
- Finals: Anna Leigh beats Parris for her second title of 2025.
Men’s Singles
Top Storylines
- (1) Fed Staksrud went down early to Aussie Tom Evans in Tucson with his new adidas paddle. Can he brush that off and make a deep run in Mesa?
- (2) Ben Johns hasn’t played singles yet in 2025, but Mesa will be his first. With the progressive draw, he has a great chance of making a deep run.
- (4) Hunter Johnson is coming off a win in Tucson, but has a tough draw to make it back to Championship Sunday. There’s a chance he has to beat the following: (28) Jay Devilliers, (15) Gabe Joseph, AND (6) Quang Duong just to make it to the semis, where he likely has to play Fed!
- One Rd of 64 Gem - (25) Mo Alhouni vs. (38) Travis Rettenmaier - Rettenmaier has called Alhouni out for cheating on line calls multiple times on his podcast, Tennis Sucks. I expect some fireworks during this matchup.
- There are 69 men’s singles qualifiers competing for eight spots in the main draw.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Federico Staksrud, (4) Hunter Johnson, (2) Ben Johns, (11) Michael Loyd
- Finals: Hunter beats Ben Johns for the first time in his career and earns a gold medal in a Cup in 2025
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Mixed Doubles
Top Storylines
- 336 - That is the number of days since (1) Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns lost their last match together. March 18th, 2024, at the PPA Austin Open against Anna Bright and Andrei Daescu was their last loss. Can they win another one to get even closer to undefeated for a whole year?
- (14) Kate Fahey and Dylan Frazier had a good run in Tucson. They could face off against (23) Brooke Buckner and Connor Garnett early in a Round of 32 matchup. Buckner and Fahey are friends and train together, and seem to play each other in singles in every event.
- Despite earning nine medals on the PPA Tour in 2024, (2) Jorja and JW Johnson have never won gold on the PPA Tour together. They won bronze last year in this event, can they step up and win gold?
- There are 38 mixed doubles teams in pro qualifiers looking to snag one of 11 TBD slots in the main draw.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (8) Rachel Rohrabacher/Hayden Patriquin, (2) Jorja and JW Johnson, and (7) Tina Pisnik/Andrei Daescu
- Finals: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Jorja and JW in the finals
Women’s Doubles
Top Storylines
- (1) Catherine Parenteau and Anna Leigh Waters have been dominant to start 2025. “The Girlies” beat them three times in 2024, but the last loss to them was PPA Worlds, over three months ago.
- I really liked what I saw from (3) Parris Todd and Hurricane Tyra Black in Tucson - can they bring that same level to Mesa?
- There are 17 women’s doubles teams in qualifiers, aiming to earn one of 11 main draw spots.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists (Straight chalk): (1) Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Meghan Dizon/Lacy Schneemann, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright, and (3) Tyra Black/Parris Todd
- Finals: Anna Leigh and Catherine beat Rachel and Anna in a 5 game match
Men’s Doubles
Top Storylines
- The long awaited partnership of (2) Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio is about to actually play some pickleball together. They got a great draw, especially with Tyson McGuffin withdrawing. They should pretty easily make it through to the semis, unless (11) Loong and Garnett give them trouble.
- (1) Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud are the 1 seed, despite Ben and Hayden playing together. They could have a tough matchup in the quarters against (6) JW Johnson/Noe Khlif.
- (4) Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu just won gold in Tucson - can they bring more of the magic in Mesa this week?
Predictions
- Semi-finals: (6) Noe Khlif/JW Johnson, (4) Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu, (2) Gabe Tardio/Ben Johns, and (9) Augie Ge/Jaume Martinez Vich
- Finals: Alshon and Daescu win two in a row in AZ, and this one is over Ge/Vich
