The latest installment of our Top 20 Men's Doubles Power Rankings have transitioned to individuals rather than partnerships.
Since doubles pairings are fluid and have been shaken up due to injuries, we figured this will provide a more realistic viewpoint of who the best men's doubles players are in the world right now.
These rankings are a subjective view of the entire pro field. Here are some of the factors taken into consideration:
- Recent finishes (specifically 2024 results)
- PPA Points
- APP Points
- Head-to-head competition
- Number of events played
- Injuries
On the outside looking in
- James Ignatowich - I know it is crazy that Big Poppa Jimmy isn’t in the Top 20, but hear me out. Ignatowich has been nursing a shoulder and/or back injury over the last month-plus. His best finish in 2024 in men’s doubles is a fourth-place finish.
- Tyler Loong - Tyler is playing really well recently, with two trips to Championship Sunday on the PPA Tour in the last two months. If he can consistently produce results, he will be in the Top 20 next time around.
- Michael Loyd - Loyd has two bronze medals on the APP Tour this year with Ryler DeHeart. He doesn’t have the same results on the PPA Tour.
Top 20 Men’s Doubles Power Rankings
20. Erik Lange - Lange has two medals in 2024 - a bronze at PPA Desert Ridge and another bronze at APP Miami. While Lange doesn't play as many events as some of the top guys on tour, his average finish in his last four events in men's doubles is fourth. Lange hasn't missed the quarterfinals in his last four tournaments, all with different partners. The big man is playing some of the best pickleball of his career in his 40s.
19. Riley Newman - We haven't seen Riley Newman play on the pro tour in over two months. Riley finished second at The Masters, fifth at PPA Desert Ridge, and third at PPA Mesa, all with Thomas Wilson. Since then, Newman hasn't played. He is easily a top 10 men's doubles player, but with no results in the last two months, he has slipped in the rankings.
18. Matt Wright - Matt has one win on tour, at the PPA Austin Open with Andrei Daescu. If you look back to last year when Riley broke up with Matt, Riley thought he could win gold medals with a different partner. Instead, he only has three silver medals since then, while Wright has two golds. Wright seems to defy age and is still one of the best right-side players in the game, even in his mid-40s.
17. Ryler DeHeart - In the four APP events so far in 2024, DeHeart has three medals - two bronze medals and a silver medal at the APP Miami with Will Howells. The lefty hits one of the hardest forehand drives on any pro tour. Even at the age of 40, DeHeart is one of the best men's players left on the APP Tour and should continue to see the medal stand moving forward.
16. Connor Garnett - Garnett is a really good left-sided player and has a silver medal at the PPA Indoor Championships with Tyler Loong. In the last six PPA events, Connor has never missed the quarterfinals and has an average finish of 5.33. He's done this with a different partner at all six events. Garnett is super versatile and is still getting better at men's doubles, which is a scary thought for the competition.
15. Dekel Bar - Dekel is playing great pickleball in 2024. He has two medals on tour - one at PPA Desert Ridge with Tyson McGuffin, and the other with Thomas Wilson at PPA Houston. The big man has been countering at an ELITE level and is always competing for a medal, no matter who he partners with.
14. Jaume Martinez Vich - Jaume is amazing at singles, which is why he is a top 10 men's singles player in our most recent Men's Singles Power Rankings. The Spaniard has two silver medals on the PPA Tour in the last three events. At the PPA North Carolina, he got a silver with Augie Ge and at the PPA LA, he got silver with Tyson McGuffin. Martinez Vich is out to prove he should have been drafted in the MLP Premier Level.
13. Tyson McGuffin - Tyson had to take a month or so off due to a plantar fascia issue, which hurts his ranking a bit. Tyson has two silver medals on the PPA Tour this year - one at PPA Desert Ridge with Dekel and just this past weekend at PPA LA with Jaume Martinez Vich. McGuffin is back on track and should be moving up in the rankings if he stays healthy.
12. Will Howells - Howells is a newer face on tour in 2024 and has played on both the APP and PPA Tours. Howells won APP Punta Gorda with CJ Klinger to start off the year and followed that up with two silver medals at the next two APP Tour stops. All three medals were earned with three different partners, showcasing his versatility.
11. Zane Navratil - Zane has three medals on the PPA Tour this year with three different partners. Zane has been putting in the work and is playing extremely well in 2024. His results are a little more volatile than the players in the top 10, with a 31st-place finish and 13th-place finish mixed in. Zane is going to be a player other guys are going to want to team up with in the second half of 2024.
10. Pablo Tellez - Pablo is one of the top two lefties on tour and has three medals this year to prove it. Tellez and Federico Staksrud have been partners in men's doubles for well over a year. It will be interesting to see who Pablo teams up with starting in May, when Fed and Pablo go their separate ways.
9. Federico Staksrud - Fed and Pablo have not missed the quarterfinals in eight PPA events this year. Fed is definitely the more consistent player compared to Pablo, but when Pablo gets hot, he goes. At the Atlanta Open, Fed is scheduled to play with Matt Wright, a pairing that will be exciting to watch.
8. Christian Alshon - Alshon and Thomas Wilson won the PPA Indoor Championships and Christian followed that up with a silver medal with Navratil at the PPA Austin. Christian has only missed the quarterfinals once this year on tour. He is super athletic and has really cleaned up his soft game to become an elite-level men's player.
Erik Tice
7. Gabe Tardio - Isn't it crazy that seven or eight months ago, Tardio was not drafted in the Premier Level of the MLP Draft? Tardio has a silver medal on the PPA Tour with Andrei Daescu and followed that up with a win at APP Sacramento. They got silver medals at APP Delray Beach and finished second at the US Open. We will see if Tardio can maintain his spot in the rankings now that he is signed exclusively with the PPA/MLP.
6. Thomas Wilson - Thomas won the PPA Indoor Championships with Christian Alshon and also has four medals on tour this year with a few different partners. Thomas is one of the most versatile men's doubles players on tour. He can play a super steady right side, but if you want to switch things up, he is extremely good on the left. In addition to his play, Thomas is one of the best partners out there.
5. Andrei Daescu - Daescu has two gold medals this year - one at APP Sacramento with Tardio and one at PPA Austin with Matt Wright. The Romanian has four silver medals in addition to his golds and has only missed the podium in two events this year. Daescu is one of the more elite players in 2024 and brings a ton of length and reach while also being a solid left-sided player.
4. Dylan Frazier - Dylan has four gold medals with JW Johnson this year but didn't play APP Sacramento, so JW has one more medal than Dylan. Dylan brings elite athleticism and lightning-fast hands and prefers to counter other player's speedups. He never backs down from any left-side opponent across from him at the net.
3. JW Johnson - JW has four gold medals in 2024 and two additional medals as well. It is interesting because JW has played both APP and PPA Tour events, as well as the US Open. He won PPA Mesa, APP Miami, APP Delray Beach, and the US Open with Dylan and has some of the quickest hands on tour.
2. Collin Johns - Collin is the right side GOAT to match Ben's left side dominance. He is a reset machine in both men's and mixed doubles. Collin's strategic mind and his ability to set Ben up makes him the second-best men's doubles player in the world right now.
1. Ben Johns - The GOAT has five gold medals in 2024 on the PPA Tour with his brother Collin. The last time the duo lost was over a month ago at PPA Austin. Ben is the most consistent men's doubles dinker and seems to be everywhere he needs to be. It'll take a lot to knock him off this top spot anytime soon.
