The last PPA Tour event of 2024 (or the first PPA Tour event of 2025, depending on the way you look at it) is in the books!
This tournament had a different energy for a few reasons:
- The tournament counted toward 2025, from a PPA Points perspective
- Players got credit for a 2024 event for contract purposes
- Many of the top players did not play in this event, leaving the field wide open
Let’s get straight into the action.
Top Storylines
Leigh Waters gets gold in her PPA return with ALW in her first contest in two years
Playing women’s doubles for the first time since tearing her ACL two years ago, Leigh Waters won gold with Anna Leigh Waters. Leigh tore her ACL at Nationals in 2022 and has been coaching ALW and the New Jersey 5s since the tear.
Since the tournament was less than three hours away from home, Leigh and Anna Leigh played together for the first time in a long time. Anna Leigh only played women’s doubles in the event, so they only had to play Saturday and Sunday.
Throughout the event, Leigh was able to find her footing. Obviously, playing with the number one player in the world, she was going to be targeted. Anna Leigh said her mom plays better when she is hitting a lot of shots, so for the first few rounds, they just played straight up - switching sides every time they scored a point, like most rec games go.
Leigh mostly played the right in the semis and the finals, but her counter-attacks looked great and her dinking is still very much top notch. Based on this one event, Leigh’s movement, and her counter attacking ability, I would put Leigh in the top 20 of pro women’s doubles players right now.
The Waters’ won the quarter-finals matchup against the Brascia sisters, 11-3, 11-7. In the semis, they had some tough competition, beating Tyra Black and Allyce Jones 11-6, 3-11, 11-3.
In the finals, the mother and daughter duo lost game one early, losing 7-11 to Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black. Down 8-2 in game two, Leigh and Anna Leigh came back to win 11-8, winning 11 points in a row. They stormed to a win in game three and four, winning 11-3 and 11-4.
Kaitlyn Christian wins her first PPA gold in her career
Kaitlyn has been at the top of the singles game all year, but had not earned a gold medal until Daytona.
Christian has earned six medals on the PPA Tour this year, but the seventh was the sweetest. Kaitlyn had to beat Mary Brascia in the semis and then Dominique Schaefer in the finals.
Kaitlyn had a very impressive run, winning every single game in her five matches. She won 113-50 overall in those five matches.
Erik Tice
Christian will be a top five singles player in 2025 and is continuing to progress in doubles.
CJ Klinger and Andrei Daescu earn CJ’s first ever gold medal on the PPA Tour in men’s doubles
Klinger won his first PPA Tour gold medal with fellow tall man, Andrei Daescu. The duo looked great throughout the event due to two big factors:
- Length at the kitchen line and taking dinks out of the air - taking their opponents’ time and space away
- The ability to get to the kitchen line while serving at an exceptional rate, by hitting phenomenal third shots
Klinger will continue to progress, as he grows into his nineteen-year-old body. Daescu is a one of the steadiest, most consistent left siders in the game today.
Daescu and Klinger made quick work of their Rd32, Rd16, and QF opponents, beating them a combined 66-19. The semis though, is where they were tested. They beat number one seed, Hayden and Fed, 11-2, 4-11, 11-7.
In the finals, CJ and Andrei beat Tellez and Bar easily, 13-11, 11-2, 11-9. If Klinger and Daescu team up in 2025, expect to see similar results.
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Zane Ford made a huge run all the way to his first PPA Silver in singles
Yes the headline is for a silver medalist. That is how good Federico Staksrud was in 2024. Daytona marked the ninth win and I don’t even know how many medals this year. He is the undisputed best men’s singles player in 2024.
Zane Ford came out of nowhere for his first medal on the PPA Tour. Ford was the 21 seed, and has been good for a while, but the 20 year old hasn’t really had an event of this magnitude yet in his career.
Here are the results for Zane, on his way to the gold medal match, from the 21 seed:
- Rd 32 - (9) Ross Whittaker - WIN - 11-3, 11-3
- Rd 16 - (5) Grayson Goldin - WIN - 11-6, 11-4
- QF - (4) Rafa Hewett - WIN - 11-2, 11-6
- Semis - (2) Michael Loyd - WIN - 11-7, 9-11, 12-10
Loyd really pushed Ford, taking him to overtime pickleball in the third game. In the final, Zane lost to Fed, 7-11, 3-11. He looked like a typical player who runs into the Staksrud buzz saw for the first time on the major stage, but really pushed through to battle.
Ford is super lanky, has great kitchen line coverage, and has a massive amount of spin on both his forehand and backhand drives. His youth and athleticism are very favorable for him to climb through the ranks in 2025 on the PPA Tour.
First time partnership Jorja Johnson and Hayden Patriquin earn gold
News flash: Jorja Johnson may be underrated. Jorja won MLP with Dallas, is very good in singles, plays amazing in mixed doubles and is a top talen in women’s doubles. There is an argument to be made that Jorja is the third-best woman in pro pickleball.
Another news flash: Big H is probably the hottest pickleball player right now. He is great at men’s doubles and mixed doubles. He is great, if not elite, at singles.
Teaming up for the first time together, Jorja and Big H looked great. In their first three matches, Jorja and Hayden beat their opponents 66-19, and they pickled their opponent twice!
In the semis, they beat Pablo and Tyra, 11-8, 11-5. The final only went three games, 11-3, 11-8, 11-3, over Tina Pisnik and Andrei Daescu.
Full Results
Women’s Singles
🥇 Kaitlyn Christian
🥈 Dominique Schaefer
🥉 Mary Brascia
Men’s Singles
🥇 Federico Staksrud
🥈 Zane Ford
🥉 Michael Loyd
Mixed Doubles
🥇 Jorja Johnson/Hayden Patriquin
🥈 Tina Pisnik/Andrei Daescu
🥉 Anna Bright/Dekel Bar
Women’s Doubles
🥇 Leigh Waters/Anna Leigh Waters
🥈 Allyce Jones/Hurricane Tyra Black
🥉 Anna Bright/Jackie Kawamoto
Men’s Doubles
🥇 CJ Klinger/Andrei Daescu
🥈 Pablo Tellez/Dekel Bar
🥉 Hayden Patriquin/Federico Staksrud
