USA Pickleball held the 15th Annual Nationals tournament this past weekend in Mesa, Arizona, at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.
The first USAP Nationals tournament was held in Casa Grande, in 2009, and had approximately 400 participants. This year’s Nationals had just under 2,500 participants and crowned dozens of winners.
The action was live-streamed on QVC+ and HSN+ and viewers can re-watch many of the matches on those platforms. Here is a link to the matches.
Nationals this year had a pro field that was significantly smaller than it has been in the past. The newly developed UPA has many pros signed to exclusive play contracts, and they were not allowed to play in Mesa.
In 2023, USAP partnered with the PPA Tour to ensure players could play the storied event. However, in 2024, the PPA branched off and held the PPA World Championships the week prior to Nationals. This caused the pro divisions at the USAP Nationals to be signficantly smaller than they have been in the past.
Top Amateur Storylines
Usually, I do not mention amateurs in tournament recaps - most readers do not care how amateurs faired. However, Nationals is different. Since this is a tournament focused on amateurs and the “golden tickets” they earn for the huge year-end event. Here are some of the top amateur storylines from Nationals:
- In Wheelchair Co-ed singles, UTR-P 5.0 and above, the gold medal match was between Anthony Ryan and Ryan Anthony. No, that is not a typo. Anthony Ryan came out on top 11-9, 11-9.
- Speaking of names, I came across this one, and had to tell my audience - Barney “Captain Hook” Reed. Barney earned himself two medals at Nationals, I just hope he didn’t have too many hooks of his opponents to get them! 😀
- Silver - Mixed Doubles, 4.5 (70-74 age group) - Partner was Susan Chouinard
- Silver - Men’s Doubles, 4.5 (65-69 age group) - Partner was Michael Nelson
- Rick Barry, Hall of Fame basketball player, won medals in multiple events:
- Gold - Mixed doubles, 4.0/4.5/5.0 (80+ years old)
- Gold - Men’s singles, 4.5/5.0 (80+ years old)
- Ella Cosma became the first player to win back to back triple crowns. The 15 year old from the state of Washington has been making waves in the past couple of months.
- Gold - Junior Girls Singles - 12-18
- Gold - Junior Girls Doubles - 15-16 - Partner was Mary McGowan (only contestants)
- Gold - Junior Mixed Doubles - 12-18 - Partner was Andre Mercado
- Jalina Ingram, a Phoenix area teenager (17), had a great week of play with the following results:
- Gold - Women’s Singles - 5.5/6.0 (19-39)
- Gold - Mixed Doubles - 6.0 (19-39) - Partner was Andy Lum
- Silver - Women’s Doubles - 6.0 (19-39) - Partner was Melissa Ferger
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Top Pro Storylines
Will Howells earns two golds
Howells was recently named the #1 overall APP Tour player in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles. He is, in my opinion, the best player playing on the APP Tour right now - and it’s not really close.
Howells has a very complete game - he has a very good serve, a great two-handed backhand serve return, and he is elite in terms of athleticism. At the kitchen line, he has a great backhand erne, elite level hand speed, and a great two-handed backhand speedup off the bounce.
Howells won men’s doubles gold with Jack Munro, winning all five of their matches in two games. In fact, Howells and Munro more than doubled their competition, winning 110-51 overall.
The finals proved to be their toughest test. Howells and Munro faced Erik Lange and Max “Purple Jesus” Manthou, barely winning, 11-8, 11-9.
In mixed doubles, Howells partnered with Bobbi Oshiro. The duo had previously won two tournaments together on the APP Tour, while also earning two other medals, as well. They were able to fend off Amanda Hendry and William Sobek in the finals, 11-9, 11-6.
Similarly to men’s doubles, Howells dominated mixed doubles as well. Howells and Oshiro beat their five competitors, 110-49.
With his two golds, Howells earned himself an $18,000 check on the weekend.
Bobbi Oshiro earned two golds
Speaking of Bobbi Oshiro, she also had herself a weekend! As mentioned above, Bobbi and Will Howells earned gold in mixed doubles, and smoked their competition.
Oshiro earned another gold on the weekend, in women’s singles. As the 4 seed, Bobbi had her work cut out for her. This was her run to the gold medal:
- Rd of 16 - (13) Nicole Eugenio - Win - 11-9, 11-6
- Quarterfinal - (5) Shelby Bates - Win - 11-5, 11-0
- Semifinals - (1) Megan Fudge - Win - 11-9, 11-1
- Finals - (15) Alexa Schull - Win - 13-11, 11-2
With the two wins, Oshiro earned a check for $17,000 on the weekend.
Oshiro’s athleticism, versatility, and consistency led to her becoming one of the best players at the USAP Nationals this past weekend.
Jill Braverman and Megan Fudge both earn a gold and bronze
Braverman and Fudge have teamed up for much of the 2024 APP Tour. Even though the field at Nationals was small, Braverman and Fudge had to go through a gauntlet just to get to the finals.
The #1 seed started their tournament off already in the quarterfinals, due to field size. They were able to beat Nicole Eugenio and Christine Maddox, 10-12, 11-3, 12-10.
In the next match in the semifinals, they again went to three games. Facing a very good duo in Yana Newell and Emily Cederquist, Braverman and Fudge won, 6-11, 11-3, 11-7.
The finals was the only match where Braverman/Fudge did not go to three games. They beat Mari Humberg and Allison Harris in the finals, 11-0, 11-4.
Fudge earned her bronze medal in women’s singles. After getting upset by eventual champion, Bobbi Oshiro, Fudge was able to beat Amanda Hendry for that bronze medal.
Braverman actually earned her bronze medal in mixed doubles, playing with Eric Oncins. After losing to Oshiro and Howells, Braverman and Oncins were able to beat Susannah Barr and Brandon Lane for third place.
Braverman earned $12,000, while Fudge earned $10,800, on the weekend.
Chris Haworth continues to win gold
It is a little bit of a lost story, but Haworth has been DOMINANT this year on the APP Tour in men's singles.
Because he has been so dominant, I think the foregone conclusion of a win of his has created a little less drama. Despite this, Haworth has marked himself as easily one of the top three men's singles players in the world right now.
Haworth finished the APP Tour this year with seven gold medals and one bronze. He was by far the winningest men's singles player on the APP Tour.
USAP Nationals proved to be no different. Haworth was dominant on his way to gold:
- Rd of 32 - (32) Ali Amiri - Win - 11-7, 11-6
- Rd of 16 - (17) Richard Livornese, Jr. - Win - 11-4, 11-2
- Quarterfinal - (8) Max 'Purple Jesus' Manthou - Win - 11-3, 11-7
- Semifinals - (13) Max Green - Win - 11-0, 11-3
- Finals - (11) Patrick Kawka - Win - 11-1, 14-12
Haworth ended up beating his opponents 113-45 throughout the event. The USAP Nationals win capped off a truly tremendous 2024 run for Haworth.
Full Results
Women’s Singles
🥇Bobbi Oshiro
🥈Alexa Schull
🥉Megan Fudge
Men’s Singles
🥇Chris Haworth
🥈Patrick Kawka
🥉Grayson Goldin
Mixed Doubles
🥇Bobbi Oshiro/Will Howells
🥈Amanda Hendry/William Sobek
🥉Jill Braverman/Eric Oncins
Women’s Doubles
🥇Jill Braverman/Megan Fudge
🥈Allison Harris/Mari Humberg
🥉Emily Cederquist/Yana Newell
Men’s Doubles
🥇Jack Munro/Will Howells
🥈Erik Lange/Max ‘Purple Jesus’ Manthou
🥉Tanner Tomassi/Richard Livornese, Jr.
