The culmination of the 2024 PPA year is upon us! The top eight teams and players are playing this week at the Life Time Rancho San Clemente.
Here is how qualification broke down:
- Women’s Singles - Top eight in PPA Points
- Men’s Singles - Top eight in PPA Points
- Women’s Doubles - Top 16 in PPA Points
- Men’s Doubles - Top 16 in PPA Points
- Women’s Mixed Doubles - Top 8 in PPA Points
- Men’s Mixed Doubles - Top 8 in PPA Points
How to Watch and Match Schedule
Wednesday, December 4th
- 1-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 5-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Championship Court - Tennis Channel (Concurrently with PBTV)
- 1-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV & SelkirkTV
Thursday, December 5th
- 1-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 5-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Championship Court - Tennis Channel (Concurrently with PBTV)
- 1-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV & SelkirkTV
Friday, December 6th
- 1-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 5-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Championship Court - Tennis Channel (Concurrently with PBTV)
- 1-9 PM ET - Pool Play - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV & SelkirkTV
Saturday, December 7th
- 1-9 PM ET - Semi-Finals - Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 5-9 PM ET - Semi-Finals - Championship Court - Tennis Channel (Concurrently with PBTV)
- 1-7 PM ET - Junior PPA Finals - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV & SelkirkTV
Sunday, December 8th
- 1-7 PM ET - Championships - Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 9-11 PM ET - Semi-Finals - Replay of the best Semi-Finals - ESPN2
Weather Outlook
The weather this week is why San Clemente is one of the best stops on the PPA Tour. Wednesday and Thursday will be a little chilly, and the play might be a little faster because of that. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are all in the low 70’s - perfect pickleball weather!
How the Tournament Works
Partnerships - The top seeded player got to choose their partner, then the next seeded player, and on down the line. The only caveat to this was mixed doubles - the top ranked woman got to pick her partner, and so on down the line.
Pool Play - There are two pools in each event:
- ATP Pool
- ERNE Pool
In pool play, each team will play the other teams once. The top two teams from each pool make it to the semi-finals on Saturday. The best team in the ATP Pool will play the second-best team from the ERNE Pool, and vice versa.
This setup makes it very similar to a PPA Progressive Draw. Each player/team will play once per day. So players who made the Finals in all three events will play three times maximum, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
The four players to make the Finals in all three disciplines were:
- Anna Leigh Waters
- Catherine Parenteau
- Federico Staksrud
- Ben Johns
Let’s get into the action!
Women’s Singles
ATP Pool
- Anna Leigh Waters (#1 seed)
- Kate Fahey
Salome Devidze- Salome was replaced last minute by Lacy Schneemann- Parris Todd
ERNE Pool
Brooke Buckner (#2 seed)- Brooke was replaced last minute by Jorja Johnson- Catherine Parenteau
- Kaitlyn Christian
- Mary Brascia
*Note - Lea Jansen qualified as the 3 seed, but has decided to forego the Finals, due to health concerns*
Analysis
ATP Pool
- This seems to be the more stacked pool, in terms of overall talent and momentum
- Obviously, I believe Anna Leigh will make it through to the semi-finals as the top seed from this bracket
- Kate is probably the hottest women’s singles player right now, having qualified for the Finals only playing in the last three months of the season
- I would say Kate is the slight favorite to make it through to the semis, but Parris and Salome definitely have a chance
ERNE Pool
- Catherine doesn’t have a win on tour all year, can she find a W in San Clemente?
- Brooke should for sure make it through this pool
- I would say the other favorite in this pool is Kaitlyn Christian, who is one of the most athletic women on tour
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: 1 Anna Leigh Waters, 2 Kate Fahey, 1 Brooke Buckner, 2 Kaitlyn Christian
- Finals: Anna Leigh beats Kate Fahey in the finals
Men’s Singles
ATP Pool
- Federico Staksrud (#1 seed)
- Hunter Johnson
- Dylan Frazier
- Jaume Martinez Vich
ERNE Pool
- Ben Johns (#2 seed)
- Connor Garnett
- Quang Duong
- Tyson McGuffin
Analysis
ATP Pool
- Fed hasn’t finished worse than fourth place all year, but he is coming off a loss to Hunter Johnson
- Dylan won the PPA Masters early on in the year, but hasn’t really had the results in the second part of the year and has been susceptible to upsets
- Jaume is the only pure “cat and mouse” player in this pool, while Fed is a chameleon in terms of play style
ERNE Pool
- This pool is very interesting because there are two “cat and mouse” players in Garnett and Johns, and two bangers in Quang and Tyson
- Quang got a win and made the finals late in the season and is playing very well right now
- Tyson is an anomaly, still ranked top 10 in the world in singles, without a two-handed backhand. Tyson has two medals this year
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: 1 Hunter Johnson, 2 Federico Staksrud, 1 Ben Johns, 2 Quang Duong
- Finals: Fed beats Hunter in the finals, after having beat Ben for the first time this year
Women’s Doubles
ATP Pool
- #1 Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau - Anna Leigh was the 1 seed and chose Catherine, the 2 seed
- *Mary Brascia/Meghan Dizon - Etta Wright was the 5 seed and chose Meghan (the other 5 seed), but recently withdrew, so Mary is filling in for Etta
- Jorja Johnson/Lacy Schneemann - Jorja was the 9 seed and chose to play with the 13 seed, Lacy Schneemann
- Tina Pisnik/Parris Todd - Tina was the 11 seed and chose to play with Parris Todd, the 15 seed
ERNE Pool
- #2 Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher - Anna Bright was the 3 seed and chose Rachel, the 4 seed
- Tyra Black/Allyce Jones - Tyra was the 7 seed and chose Allyce, and chose to play with 14 seed Allyce
- Callie Smith/Lucy Kovalova - Callie was the 8 seed and chose Lucy, the 10 seed
- **Mari Humberg/Jessie Irvine - Mari was the 19 seed and had to play with Jessie, the 20 seed
*Etta Wright qualified in gender and mixed doubles, but has decided to forego the Finals, due to health concerns*
**12 Lea Jansen, 16 Jackie Kawamoto, 17 Jade Kawamoto, 18 Vivienne David all chose to forego playing in the Finals, allowing Mari and Jessie to play in the Finals**
Analysis
- The biggest surprise to me was Jorja choosing Lacy, instead of Mari Humberg, but maybe she didn’t know that Mari was going to play
- Etta pulling out due to injury really throws the ATP Pool into chaos
- I don’t think I have seen Tina and Parris play together, so that would be a fun new partnership (upon further review, Parris and Tina played in three matches together on another tour, late in 2023 - Thanks to www.picklewave.com)
- Tyra and Allyce have been a surprisingly good team lately on the PPA Tour and have momentum going into the Finals
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: 1 Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau, 2 Jorja Johnson/Lacy Schneemann, 1 Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher, 2 Callie Smith/Lucy Kovalova
- Finals: ALW and Catherine beat Anna Bright and Rachel in four games
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Men’s Doubles
ATP Pool
- #1 Collin Johns/Ben Johns - Collin was the 1 seed and chose Ben, the 2 seed
- JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio - JW was the 4 seed, and chose 10 seed Gabe
- Dekel Bar/Christian Alshon - Dekel was the 6 seed and chose Christian Alshon, the 13 seed
- Riley Newman/Jaume Martinez Vich - Riley was the 14 seed, and is playing with 15 JMV
ERNE Pool
- #2 Dylan Frazier/Pablo Tellez - Dylan was the 3 seed and got to pick from the entire pool, choosing 7 seed Pablo, instead of JW
- Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin - Fed was the 5 seed, and chose the 8 seed in Hayden Patriquin
- Tyson McGuffin/Andrei Daescu - Tyson was the 9 seed and chose Andrei, the 12 seed
- Matt Wright/James Ignatowich - Matt was the 11 seed and chose James, the 16 seed
Analysis
- The biggest surprise was Dylan playing with Pablo, instead of JW Johnson. This is a sign of things to come in 2025 - While Dylan and JW will play some, they are branching out and playing with different partners in 2025
- Gabe gives the Johns brothers problems and is playing with JW Johnson in the same pool
- Fed and Hayden have won a gold medal on tour this year and are probably playing together some next year
- Riley and Jaume played together on the Columbus Sliders this year in MLP, but it didn’t go very well - maybe a second chance will be better
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: 1 Collin/Ben Johns, 2 JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio, 1 Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin, 2 Matt Wright/James Ignatowich
- Finals: Fed and Hayden beat Collin and Ben in the finals
Mixed Doubles
ATP Pool
- #1 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns - ALW was the #1 seed and chose to play with #1 Ben
- **Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon - Catherine was the #4 seed and chose to play with Christian, the #3 seed
- ***Meghan Dizon/James Ignatowich - Etta Wright was the 6 seed, but withdrew, so Meghan replaced her and is playing with James, the 4 seed
- Rachel Rohrabacher/Federico Staksrud - Rachel was the 7 seed and chose 6 seed Fed, her normal partner
ERNE Pool
- #2 Anna Bright/*Gabe Tardio - Anna was the #2 seed, and chose 9 seed Gabe Tardio
- Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson - Jorja was the #3 seed, and chose her brother, JW, the 2 seed
- Tina Pisnik/Dekel Bar - Tina was the 5 seed and chose Dekel, the 5 seed
- Jessie Irvine/Riley Newman - Jessie and Riley were the last two players in the pool and play together
*Thomas Wilson was the 5 seed, but has not played in over five months and is not playing in the Finals, so Gabe Tardio was the 9 seed and made it to the Finals*
**Vivienne David chose not to play in the Finals and was the 4 seed and Catherine was the 5 seed, but moved up because of Vivienne not playing**
***Meghan Dizon replaced Etta Wright in mixed doubles and will be playing with James Ignatowich***
Analysis
- This was the most difficult event to qualify for and there are several substitutions and/or replacements
- It is very interesting that Anna chose Gabe - who beat his Shock teammate, Hayden Patriquin by 37.5 points to qualify for the event
- I think Christian and Catherine are going to be a regular partnership in 2025 and they will be a force to be reckoned with
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: 1 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, 2 Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon, 1 Jorja and JW Johnson, 2 Anna Bright/Gabe Tardio
- Finals: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Christian and Catherine in the finals
