
3 things to watch for on Thursday at PPA Daytona Beach
The Florida Dairy Farmers Daytona Beach Open continues Thursday with the mixed doubles competition, which will be played through the quarterfinal rounds.
Click here to see the draws, and find this week’s broadcast schedule below:
Now, let’s get into what to watch for.
- Rachel Rohrabacher/Federico Staksrud are teaming up for the first time since playing together for most of the 2024 season. Their previous stint as a partnership yielded two podium finishes—including a bronze medal at Worlds—so they should be primed to make a deep run in Daytona Beach as the No. 5 seeds. They will face top seeds Jorja Jonson/JW Johnson in what would be a must-watch quarterfinal matchup, if both teams make it that far.
- Kaitlyn Christian/Andrei Daescu will take the court together for the very first time and will debut as the No. 6 seeds. Daescu won silver at this tournament alongside Tina Pisnik in 2024, so he will be looking to do one better this year with Christian. They could face No 10 seeds Meghan Dizon/Jaume Martinez Vich in what would be a highly entertaining Round of 16 clash.
- And finally, this will be Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio’s last tournament as a long-term mixed doubles partnership. They have played almost exclusively together for the past 2 years on the PPA Tour, winning one title and five total medals in that span, but Tardio will be partnering up with Catherine Parenteau in 2026. The No. 3 seeds will look to end their partnership on a high note in the Sunshine State.
Live broadcast coverage from Pictona begins at 11am ET on Pickleballtv.
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