The inaugural PPA Tour World Championships lived up to the billing! Free country concerts all week long, over 3,500 total player participating, a celebrity pickleball showdown, a build out from 30 courts to over 80, and some of the best pickleball you’ve ever seen.
Mother Nature, per usual in 2024, was not very cooperative with the weather. Play early in the week was held mostly indoors, as Dallas got rain Tuesday, Wednesday, and a lot of rain on Thursday. The good news? Saturday and Sunday were picture-perfect for play - 70s and sunny, with minimal wind.
The PPA Tour has four “majors” throughout the year. These four tournaments are referred to as “Slams”. In 2024, they were the Masters, The Vizzy Atlanta Slam, the CIBC Atlanta Slam, and the World Championships.
While all of them felt more important due to the Slam title, Worlds definitely felt like it was the most important. Every healthy player was present, and even Round of 64 matches were difficult. I would label this year’s World Championships as the deepest and most difficult field in the history of pro pickleball.
Let’s get into the action!
Top 10 Plays/Moments from the PPA LAPIPLASTY World Championships
Does anyone hit a forehand harder than Jack Sock? I don’t think so! Sock and Callie Smith would end up getting upset in this Rd of 64 match, losing to Maria Klokotzky and Etienne Blaszkewycz.
Ella Cosma (15) and Ella Yeh (14) are the youngest duo to ever make a main draw appearance. They played Genie Bouchard and Kaitlyn Christian in the Rd of 64 and hung in there with the best - losing the match 5-11, 6-11.
Speaking of Genie Bouchard, she made the Sports Center Top 10 - no big deal. Bouchard has really looked good the past few months. Her training and dedication has been very evident in the latter half of 2024.
We can’t talk about the top plays without including Anna Leigh. The roll across the net helped kick the ball wide for Waters, and she hit a perfect forehand ATP against John Cincola and Martina Frantova.
Gabe Tardio fights off a net cord drive and keeps the ball in play to eventually win the point. Andrei Daescu, his partner, trolls him on the way back to the baseline with a funny joke.
The Celebrity Showdown brought a ton of fun and highlights. Golden Tate’s Nasty Nelson of Kris Humphries was easily one of the best highlights of the night.
Not to be outdone, Humphries later returned the favor, body bagging Tyson McGuffin at the kitchen line.
Layne Sleeth showed off her elite level athleticism playing defense against Rachel Rohrabacker and Anna Bright.
The game that Quang Duong and CJ Klinger brought to Worlds was next level. Watch highlights of their match against Alshon and Ignatowich, in the quarterfinals. They won 11-6, 11-7.
Hudson Hall, a junior PPA contestant, makes the top ten list of best plays this weekend with this FILTHY put away at the kitchen line. The 14-year-old is a 4.4 DUPR, but this play was easily a 6.0 play.
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Top Headlines
The Girlies Beat Anna Leigh and Catherine for the Third Time this Year
We officially have a rivalry in women’s doubles, headed into 2025, and I am here for it! Worlds marked the eighth meeting between Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters and Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright in the finals of a PPA Tour event. Anna Leigh and Catherine were leading 5-2 in the series in 2024, before Rachel and Anna Bright won this weekend.
Not only did they win, but they did it in convincing fashion as well! The scoreline in the final was 11-4, 11-8, 11-6. At no point during the match did it look like Catherine and ALW were going to win a game. They looked completely out of sorts.
The major reason for this was Rachel’s offense. She was speeding up everything and initiating many of the hands battles. It didn’t matter where Catherine was on the court, AB and Rachel were targeting her with as many speedups as possible.
Going into 2024, it felt like ALW and Catherine were in a league of their own, and there was a battle for the second-best women’s team. That battle was between Rachel/AB and Etta Wright/Meghan Dizon.
At the end of 2024, the landscape has changed. Catherine and Anna Leigh are still the #1 women’s doubles team, but Rachel and Anna Bright are right on their heels as a 1B. Then there is everyone else.
Michael Loyd Had a Cinderella Run for the Ages
Michael Loyd has had a fantastic month of pickleball going into the end of the year.
Loyd was the 21 seed in the World Championships, with a tough draw. In the first two rounds, he actually had to play two very good men’s singles qualifiers players. He beat Miguel Alda, 13-11, 11-8. He followed that up with a win over Dave Bacalla, 11-1, 11-3.
This is where most people thought his run might end. Loyd had to face 2 Ben Johns in the Round of 16. He beat Ben handily, 11-3, 11-9.
Loyd then squared up against 11 JW Johnson, beating him 11-5, 12-10.
In the semifinals, Loyd faced Quang Duong, who he lost to in the semifinals a few weeks ago in the PPA Guaranteed Rate Championships in Las Vegas. Loyd lost that matchup 2-11, 2-11.
In Dallas, Loyd was able to turn around that scoreline in a big way, beating Duong, 11-7, 11-8.
Loyd eventually earned a silver medal at the PPA Worlds, losing to #1 Federico Staksrud, 11-3, 11-7 in the final. Although he looked dangerous, Loyd just wasn’t able to consistently pass Fed to gut out a victory.
Here is a quick rundown of Loyd’s accomplishments over the past month or so:
- Got picked up permanently to replace John Cincola on the Frisco Pandas in MLP
- PPA Guaranteed Rate Championships Men’s Singles Results, as the 30 seed:
- Rd 64 - Win over 40 Greg Dow, 11-1, 11-6
- Rd 32 - Win over 5 Claudio Quinones Garcia (Garcia got the lucky loser for the 5 seed when Dylan Frazier withdrew), 11-2, 11-9
- Rd 16 - Win over 11 Aanik Lohani, 11-7, 11-4
- QF - Win over 28 Mota Alhouni, 6-11, 11-2, 11-7
- Semi - Loss to 6 Quang Duong, 2-11, 2-11
- Bronze - Loss to 1 Federico Staksrud, 8-11, 9-11
- Went 4-4 in MLP Miami, and helped get the Frisco Pandas into the Challenger Level playoffs
- In the most important playoff match of his career, Loyd needed a mixed doubles win in order to bring their second match in the playoffs to a Dreambreaker. Loyd and Tammy Emmrich were able to beat Milan Rane and Eric Oncins, 25-22, forcing the Dreambreaker. Frisco would go on to lose the Dreambreaker.
- PPA World Championships Men’s Singles - Silver Medal
Loyd’s star is rising at the end of 2024, headed into 2025.
Quang Duong had his best Overall Tournament thus far in his Career
But Erik, how could you say that? Quang won two gold medals this year. He didn’t even win one medal at World’s.
Well, going into Semifinal Saturday, Quang was one of three players who still had a shot at a triple crown. The other two players? Anna Leigh Waters and Fed Staksrud.
Quang played great in singles, but decided to withdraw from the bronze match to focus on his men’s doubles bronze and mixed doubles bronze matches on Sunday.
In mixed doubles, Quang and Anna Bright earned a fourth place finish, beating Dekel Bar and Tina Pisnik, 11-8, 11-7, in the quarterfinals to make the semis. This was Quang and Anna’s first time playing together, and their mixed doubles pickleball was very fun to watch.
In men’s doubles, Quang partnered up with CJ Klinger for the first time, and they also earned a fourth place finish. In the Rd 16, they beat the 1 seed, Ben and Collin Johns, 11-1, 11-6. Ben and Collin looked bewildered and then before they knew it, the match was over.
In the semis, CJ and Quang beat Christian Alshon and James Ignatowich, 11-6, 11-7. They were so close to the gold and bronze. The Texas Ranchers men looked excellent at Worlds.
Quang played so well in Dallas, he made me ponder the following question - In 2025, which guy would have the best odds for a triple crown? I think Quang is probably the answer, depending on which partners he can get.
Riley Newman Gets his First Gold in 2024 with Hayden Patriquin
He’s back, baby! Riley Newman is back in the winner’s circle. It has been well over a year since Riley won gold.
Here is a crazy stat from the PPA Tour statistician, Jim Ramsey:
Newman has won at least one title every year since 2020, joining Matt Wright and Ben Johns as the only players to do so. (Kovalova and McGuffin are on deck).
— Jim Ramsey (@JimRamsey247) November 10, 2024
Riley started the year off playing a few events, and then had a contract dispute, where he missed three months of play from March through May. Since June, Newman has been working his way back into the form he showed in 2022 and 2023. That buildup hit a new high in Worlds, with Riley and Hayden earning a gold.
Hayden has solidified himself as one of, if not the most versatile partners on tour. In men’s doubles, Hayden has now won gold twice with Fed and once with Riley. He won silver with Pablo in the Orange County Cup. He also won bronze earlier in the year with Callan Dawson and earned another bronze in Kansas City with Christian Alshon. That’s six medals this year, with five different partners and he has played both the left and the right side.
I am so interested to see who Riley and Hayden partner with in 2025.
Players were Looking to Lock Up a Spot in the CIBC Finals in San Clemente
Kate Fahey made a huge run AGAIN. She earned a silver medal, beating Parris Todd, Lea Jansen, and Salome Devidze on her way to Championship Sunday. With her silver medal, Kate earned 1,600 PPA points, propelling her from 9th to 7th place in the race to the finals.
Kate seems to have solidified herself in the CIBC Finals in San Clemente, in December. The battle is now between Parris Todd, in 8th with 6,375 points, and Mary Brascia, on the outside looking in at 9th with 6,050 points.
With his quarterfinal run in singles, Hunter Johnson also jumped from 8th place to 5th - locking up the finals. It looks like Tyson McGuffin will barely get into the CIBC Finals in 8th place.
With his win, Riley Newman leapfrogged a bunch of guys in men’s doubles and is now 14th in the standings, with the top 16 making the finals.
Allyce Jones, with her bronze medal, jumped the Kawamotos and Viv David, to get to 15th place and she has locked up a finals berth. With Viv not playing Milwaukee, the Kawamotos are going to need to earn silver in order for Jackie to earn a top 16 spot.
The last match of the event may have actually had the biggest impact on the race to the CIBC Finals than any other. Rachel Rohrabacher and Federico Staksrud beat Anna Bright and Quang Duong in three games for the bronze medal. Rohrabacher passed Jessie Irvine with the 1,200 points for third. She is now 750 points ahead of Jessie, which seems like an insurmountable proposition with only one event left.
Full Results
Women’s Singles
🥇 Anna Leigh Waters
🥈 Kate Fahey
🥉 Salome Devidze
Men’s Singles
🥇 Federico Staksrud
🥈 Michael Loyd
🥉 Hunter Johnson
Mixed Doubles
🥇 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns
🥈 Etta Wright/Christian Alshon
🥉 Rachel Rohrabacher/Federico Staksrud
Women’s Doubles
🥇 Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright
🥈 Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters
🥉 Allyce Jones/Hurricane Tyra Black
Men’s Doubles
🥇 Hayden Patriquin/Riley Newman
🥈 Pablo Tellez/Dekel Bar
🥉 Matt Wright/Federico Staksrud
