The PPA Tour is back in action after a weekend off! This is the first time the PPA Tour has visited the Lake Kennedy Racquet Center. The facility is run by the city of Cape Coral and has 32 permanent pickleball courts and 12 tennis courts (I assume these will be temporarily converted to pickleball for the tournament).
This is an Open level tournament, which means 1,000 PPA Points are on the line for the winners of each event. Additionally, this is more of a “traditional” draw:
- Wednesday - qualifiers
- Thursday - singles
- Friday - mixed doubles
- Saturday - gender doubles
- Sunday - Championship Sunday
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Weather Outlook
The only day that may have rain is Championship Sunday, which is something to watch out for. The other problem I think the players are going to deal with is wind. The wind is supposed to be in double digits on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Thursday is supposed to be as high as 17mph. This will be a big part of the conversation throughout the tournament.
How to watch the PPA Cape Coral Open
Thursday, March 6th - Women’s and Men’s Singles
- 11am - 7pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 11am - 5pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
Friday, March 7th - Mixed Doubles
- 11am - 7pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 11am - 5pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
Saturday, March 8th - Women’s and Men’s Doubles
- 11am - 7pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 11am - 5pm ET- Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
Sunday, March 9th - Championship Sunday
- 10am - 5pm ET- Championship Court - PickleballTV
- 10am - 2pm ET- Grandstand Court (Bronze Matches) - PickleballTV
Let’s get into the action!
Women’s Singles
Top Storylines
- May 31st, 2024, was the last time (1) Anna Leigh Waters lost a singles match - I don’t anticipate it happening in Cape Coral.
- A very intriguing potential matchup in the Round of 16 could be (10) Genie Bouchard v (5) Parris Todd. They are both playing extremely well right now.
- (36) Callie Smith doesn’t play much singles, but she is playing in Cape Coral. She will play a qualifier and then face off against (4) Kate Fahey.
Prediction
- Semi-finalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Kate Fahey, (2) Kaitlyn Christian, and (3) Brooke Buckner
- Finals: In the exact rematch of the semi-finals from the PPA Mesa Cup, the only change I see happening is Kaitlyn beating Brooke. Anna Leigh beats Kaitlyn to win her third gold in 2025
Men’s Singles
Top Storylines
- (1) Ben Johns is playing in his second straight singles event, after skipping singles at the first two PPA Tour events. He won in Mesa, can he make it a back to back?
- (36) Eric Oncins is very good at singles and underseeded because he doesn’t have many PPA events under his belt. I know Hunter Johnson is playing great right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Oncins push Johnson to three games.
- (33) James Ignatowich is playing singles again, but he will have a monumental task if he can beat (29) Wyatt Stone - he faces off against Ben Johns in the Round of 32 - Welcome to men’s singles!
Intriguing Matchups
- Rising star (16) Zane Ford was picked up by the NY Hustlers over the weekend, and he gets a Rd of 64 bye with his 16 seed. In the Round of 16 he could face off against veteran (4) Tyson McGuffin, which would be a really fun one to watch.
- Another Round of 16 potential matchup: (9) Jack Sock v (5) Quang Duong. Duong withdrew in the middle of a match from an apparent injury in Mesa, so we will see how well his body holds up.
Prediction
- Semi-finalists: (1) Ben Johns, (6) Jaume Martinez Vich, (9) Jack Sock, and (16) Zane Ford
- Finals: Ben Johns beats Jack Sock to win his second straight gold medal
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Mixed Doubles
Top Storylines
- Even in an Open level event, mixed doubles is crazy competitive. This is a Round of 64 matchup: (30) Tammy Emmrich/Daniel De La Rosa v (36) Genie Erokhina/Yates Johnson.
- (1) Anna Leigh and Ben got upset in the semis of the PPA Mesa Cup - I believe they are on a revenge tour in Cape Coral and no one is stopping them.
- (25) Quang Duong is playing with newly signed Victoria Di Muzio. Di Muzio is filling in for Vivian Glozman, who seemed to have her contract situation taken care of, but now I am hearing there are still issues.
New/Intriguing Partnerships
- (2) Anna Bright is still searching for her regular mixed doubles partner, and is playing with JW Johnson
- (4) Jorja Johnson is playing with Hayden Patriquin
- (10) Lea Jansen is partnering with Dylan Frazier - I really like this partnership, but in the Round of 32 they either face Parris/Hunter or Loyd/Koop
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (4) Jorja Johnson/Hayden Patriquin, (2) Anna Bright/JW Johnson, and (3) Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon
- Finals: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Catherine and Christian in four games
Women’s Doubles
Top Storylines
- Women’s doubles has been SO FUN in the finals thus far in 2025. It has been (1) Catherine and Anna Leigh vs. (2) Rachel and Anna in the finals in every event. Will that change in Cape Coral? I don’t think so.
- (11) Callie Smith is playing with newcomer Victoria Di Muzio (in place of Viv Glozman), but both like to play the left. This should be an intriguing partnership.
- (17) Layne Sleeth and Kaitlyn Christian are a sneaky good 17 seed. I expect them to beat the Walker sisters and then they have a really tough match in the Rd of 16, with the (3) seed, Allyce Jones and Hurricane Tyra Black.
Prediction
- Semi-finalists: (1) Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters, (5) Lucy Kovalova/Lea Jansen, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright, and (4) Parris Todd/Jorja Johnson
- Finals: Catherine and Anna Leigh win their fourth straight title in 2025 over The Girlies
Men’s Doubles
Top Storylines
- (1) Ben Johns is playing with Andrei Daescu. This was due to the whole Max Freeman fiasco. I assume Andrei will play the right, but he hasn’t played on that side in forever, so we will see how they both adjust.
- (2) Christian Alshon and Federico Staksrud are playing together for the first time - love this partnership.
- (7) Collin Johns is playing with Noe Khlif - one of a few partnerships Collin is testing out without his brother, Ben.
Intriguing Matchups
- The potential Rd of 16 matchup of (9) Matt Wright/Zane Navratil v (5) Riley Newman/Dylan Frazier could be electric! I expect some chirping in this one.
- (3) Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio are playing together on the PPA Tour. The St. Louis Shock teammates are favored to make it out of their bracket, but have to potentially face (6) CJ Klinger/JW Johnson in the quarters.
Prediction
- Semi-finalists: (1) Andrei Daescu/Ben Johns, (3) Gabe Tardio/Hayden Patriquin, (2) Christian Alshon/Federico Staksrud, and (7) Collin Johns/Noe Khlif
- Finals: Gabe and Hayden upset the 1 seeds and then beat Alshon and Staksrud in the finals
(p.s check out our most viewed story in 2025 here)
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