The 2024 PPA year came to a conclusion on Sunday, at the Life Time Rancho San Clemente, in the CIBC Finals.
Quick recap on how qualification for the finals works
- 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
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 were two pools in each event:
- ATP Pool
- ERNE Pool
In pool play, each team played the other teams once. The top two teams from each pool made it to the semi-finals on Saturday. The best team in the ATP Pool played the second-best team from the ERNE Pool, and vice versa.
This setup made it very similar to a PPA Progressive Draw - each player/team played once per day. Championship Sunday was the culmination of the season ending event.
Let’s get into the action!
Women’s Singles
Results
ATP Pool
ERNE Pool
*Lea Jansen, Brooke Buckner (Jorja subbed), and Salome Devidze (Lacy subbed) all qualified for the Finals, but elected not to participate, either due to health or scheduling*
Most Important Pool Play Matches
- ERNE Pool - Thursday - Mary Brascia beat Catherine Parenteau, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7
- ATP Pool - Thursday, Parris Todd beat Kate Fahey, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6
Biggest Beat Downs
- ERNE Pool - Friday - Kaitlyn Christian beat Mary Brascia, 11-0, 11-2
- ATP Pool - Thursday - Anna Leigh beat Lacy Schneemann, 11-2, 11-0
Semi-finals
- Anna Leigh Waters beat Mary Brascia - 11-0, 11-6
- Parris Todd beat Kaitlyn Christian - 11-8, 11-5
Finals
- Anna Leigh beat Parris - 11-9, 11-4
Top Talking Points
- Mary Brascia played extremely well, winning twice in pool play, securing a semi-final berth. She played at her home courts and had the crowd behind her. Mary has a ways to go in order to push Anna Leigh, but she is very much a top 10 singles player headed into 2025.
- Parris Todd beat Kate Fahey on Thursday for the deciding match to see who would move on to the semi-finals. This was Parris’ third win in the matchup this year, and Parris is now 3-1 against Fahey.
Pickleball Profiles: Kaitlyn Christian
Kaitlyn Christian came onto the scene in a big way at the PPA Desert Ridge Open in early February. If you are a tennis fan you probably know her name already. Early Playing Career Kaitlyn grew up in Orange, Calif., and played junior tennis starting at the age of seven.
Erik Tice
- Kaitlyn Christian showed that she is one of the most athletic and dangerous women on tour headed into 2025. She went undefeated in pool play and ran into a buzz saw named Parris Todd in the semis. Christian is a top five women’s singles player right now.
- ALW is just dominant. She never lost a game, went a combined 111-45 in singles. No one is close to ALW in terms of consistency, power, and winning percentage. I doubt Anna Leigh loses more than two matches in 2025.
Men’s Singles
Results
ATP Pool
ERNE Pool
Most Important Pool Play Matches
- ERNE Pool - Wednesday - Tyson McGuffin beat Ben Johns - 13-11, 11-9
- ATP Pool - Wednesday - Hunter Johnson beat Dylan Frazier - 11-7, 11-8
- ERNE Pool - Friday, Connor Garnett beat Ben Johns - 11-3, 11-9
Biggest Beat Downs
- ERNE Pool - Friday - Tyson McGuffin beat Pablo Tellez - 11-0, 11-1
Semi-finals
- Hunter Johnson beat Tyson McGuffin - 11-1, 11-7
- Connor Garnett beat Federico Staksrud - 12-10, 7-11, 11-3
Finals
- Hunter Johnson beat Connor Garnett - 11-6, 12-10
Top Talking Points
- Hunter Johnson had a helluva second half of 2024. This is Johnson’s third win in five months. He also has a silver and two bronze medals to go along with those wins. Johnson is playing inspired pickleball right now, and I would have to include him in my top three best men’s singles players in the world going into 2025.
- Fed finished the year never missing a semi-final. He played in 23 events this year in men’s singles and NEVER MISSED A SEMI-FINAL. In the most tumultuous event by far in pro pickleball, Fed is not only the model of consistency, but he is the man to beat going into 2025.
- Tyson had a phenomenal run in the Finals, winning all three pool play matches. I can’t remember the last time Tyson beat Ben - what a match. Despite getting a little older, and having zero backhand, the guy just grinds out singles points - it is impressive.
- Connor Garnett had a great year in singles. Sure, he was susceptible to an upset here or there, but he won nine medals this year, including the silver in the Finals. To beat Ben and then Fed in order to win silver was impressive. He was a little lucky to get into the semis, based on the tie-breaker, but he showed he belonged by beating Fed in three. Garnett is firing on all cylinders, and should be a top five player in 2025.
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Mixed Doubles
Results
ATP Pool
ERNE Pool
Most Important Pool Play Matches
- ERNE Pool - Wednesday, Anna/Gabe beat Jessie/Riley - 11-1, 11-7
- ATP Pool - Thursday - Catherine/Christian beat Rachel/Fed - 11-3, 11-1
Semi-finals
- Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon beat Jorja & JW Johnson - 11-4, 11-9
- Anna Leigh/Ben Johns beat Anna Bright/Gabe Tardio - 11-7, 11-4
Finals
- Anna Leigh and Ben beat Catherine and Christian - 11-3, 11-3, 8-11, 11-1
Top Talking Points
- Ben and Anna Leigh seem like they are unstoppable. I just don’t see any mixed doubles teams regularly beating them in 2025. This was their 14th win on tour this year, and the literally only lost one match.
- Catherine and Christian looked like a phenomenal team together and they could make some noise in 2025 if they play together.
- Anna Bright picked Gabe Tardio to play with in the finals. I wonder who her main mixed doubles partner will be in 2025. In my opinion, she is the second best mixed doubles woman, behind Anna Leigh, so she probably has a lot of guys asking. We shall wait and see, but I expect her to continue pushing ALW/Ben in 2025, no matter who her partner is.
- Jorja and JW are finishing 2024 off with a huge confidence boost and momentum. They just won MLP with the Dallas Flash, and made the semis of the Finals. Look for this sibling duo to continue making strides in 2025. If JW can start adding more offense into his game, the Johnsons could be on watch to upset Ben and Anna Leigh.
Women’s Doubles
Results
ATP Pool
ERNE Pool
Most Important Pool Play Matches
- ATP Pool - Thursday - Jorja and Lacy upset ALW and Catherine - 3-11, 11-6, 11-5
- ERNE Pool - Friday - Jessie and Mari beat Tyra and Allyce - 7-11. 11-6, 11-3
- ATP Pool - Friday - Tina and Parris beat Jorja and Lacy - 10-12, 11-7, 11-6
Biggest Beat Downs
- ERNE Pool - Thursday - Rachel and Anna beat Callie and Lucy - 11-0, 11-8
- ERNE Pool - Friday - Rachel and Anna beat Tyra and Allyce - 11-0, 11-3
Semi-finals
- Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright beat Jorja Johnson/Lacy Schneemann - 6-11, 11-4, 11-6
- Anna Leigh/Catherine Parenteau beat Jessie Irvine/Mari Humberg - 11-9, 11-3
Finals
- Anna Leigh and Catherine beat Rachel and Anna - 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 12-10
Top Talking Points
- This is by far the best rivalry in pro pickleball. Every time Anna Leigh and Catherine face off against Rachel and Anna, it is an epic battle. If I only showed you video of game one of the finals, you would have said there is absolutely no way ALW and Catherine win the match. They made the necessary adjustments and came back roaring and beat “The girlies”.
- Jessie and Mari didn’t even initially qualify for the Finals, but due to some women opting not to attend, they played together. The two ladies played great all weekend long, even as heavy underdogs going into play. The comeback win on Friday took them over the hump to get into the semis over Tyra and Allyce.
Men’s Doubles
Results
ATP Pool
ERNE Pool
Most Important Pool Play Matches
- ERNE Pool - Friday - Hayden and Fed beat Pablo and Dylan - 7-11-4, 11-6
- ATP Pool - Friday - Gabe and JW beat Collin and Ben - 11-5, 11-6
Biggest Beat Downs
- ERNE Pool - Friday - Tyson and Andrei DOUBLE PICKLED James and Matt - 11-0, 11-0
Semi-finals
- JW and Gabe beat Tyson and Andrei - 11-2, 5-11, 11-2
- Fed and Hayden beat Christian and Dekel - 11-4, 11-5
Finals
- Fed and Hayden beat JW and Gabe in three straight - 11-6, 11-1, 11-7
Top Talking Points
- Hayden and Fed have won three times since partnering together in men’s doubles. I would place them as the best team in the world right now, especially with JW and Dylan splitting in 2025. I love their play style - Fed is super consistent and can finish points, while Hayden plays a huge right side and creates chaos everywhere. Look for this duo to win the most gold medals in men’s doubles in 2025.
- JW and Gabe look like another great pairing. If they want to regularly beat the top top teams, JW is going to need to add more offense to his game. He is a PHENOMENAL counter-attacker and resetter, but he doesn’t speed much up. Gabe, on the other hand, brings a ton of variety in attacking. I think these two will do well in 2025, but not win as much as some of the top teams.
- The Johns brothers continue to show signs of regression and/or other teams closing the gap. Collin got caught on a mic screaming about how bad the ball is again, and I am sure will incur another fine for that. Collin and Ben desperately need this small break in the schedule to find their mojo again, headed into 2025.
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