The Inaugural APP Women’s Open took place this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the Pickle & Chill. The tournament celebrated women in the sport of pickleball and raised money for Breast Cancer Research.
The event raised $25,000 for the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the OSUCCC - James. The timing of this event couldn’t have been better, as it coincided with the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In addition to this amazing event, Victoria’s Secret & Co. was the presenting sponsor. After the play was done on Saturday, the event hosted over 100 young women at the Dream Big Summit. This was a panel of influential women discussing women's self-advocacy.
This particular event had three main events: pro singles, split-age women’s doubles, and pro women’s doubles.
Women's Pro Doubles
Megan Fudge, the APP Tour’s all-time women’s total medal leader, paired up with pickleball veteran Jill Braverman to take on Allison Harris and Daria Walczak in the women’s doubles final. Braverman and Fudge won the match 11-9, 11-4.
“It’s a privilege to be out here and play in such an amazing event,” said Fudge. “We wanted to put on a good show for everybody, and hope they enjoyed it. Thanks to everybody for coming out and to all the sponsors. It’s truly an amazing cause. I know so many women and men are fighting something that is so hard to beat and we’re praying for a cancer-free world.”
Braverman shared a heartfelt message following the win:
“I want to dedicate this [win] to my mother-in-law, who is currently going through chemo. She is such an inspiration, and I was thinking about her this whole match.”
Susannah Barr and Arielle Butler took home the women’s doubles bronze medals.
Women’s Pro Singles
In an extremely close final, Ohio native Shannon Pretorius played against Domenika Turkovic. Pretorius cruised in game one in front of her home state crowd, 15-6.
Turkovic dug deep and responded with a nail-biting 16-14 win in game two, forcing a decisive third game. Pretorius jumped out to an early lead in game three and held on, 15-10, to clinch her first career APP gold medal.
“It feels so amazing,” said Pretorius, a native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. “I’ve come really close this year, and to do it here at the APP Women’s Open feels amazing. I had so many close matches and I really pushed over and got those wins, so it feels great.”
Alla Mikhno earned women’s singles bronze in Columbus.
Split-Age Women’s Pro Doubles
Split-Age Pro is one of the most fun events, but it's only played a few times a year. Each team includes one player under 50 and another player over 50.
The finals of the event included Megan Fudge and Angela Simon against Susannah Barr and Sheri Courter. Barr and Courter won 11-6, 11-8 to win gold.
“This lady is a beast out there,” Barr said, referring to Courter. “She just picked me up. I was having a hard time seeing the ball at first, and then we settled in and found our groove. Shouts out to Angela and Megan. They played great and are amazing competitors.”
“This weekend was so special to be part of,” Barr continued. “We had a huge crowd supporting us, the staff has done an amazing job, all these women came together, and to have the first gold is pretty awesome.”
“This is my hometown,” added Courter, a native of nearby Dublin, Ohio. “I saw a lot of friendly faces out there, but I also saw just a lot of women supporting everyone. It’s a really special event.”
The lefty lefty combo of Lee Whitwell and Amanda Hendry won bronze in the split-age pro.
Full Results
Pro Women’s Singles
🥇 Shannon Pretorius
🥈 Domenika Turkovic
🥉 Alla Mikhno
Split Age Women’s Doubles
🥇 Susannah Barr/Sheri Courter
🥈 Megan Fudge/Angela Simon
🥉 Amanda Hendry/Lee Whitwell
Pro Women’s Doubles
🥇 Jill Braverman/Megan Fudge
🥈 Allison Harris/Daria Walczak
🥉 Susannah Barr/Arielle Butler
