The Black Desert Resort Red Rock Open went late on Sunday, with the final match not finishing until about 7:30pm local time. It was an interesting week, with a modified traditional draw being used for the first time. There was still one event held each day, but instead of progressing through to the finalists, each event ended after the quarterfinals. By starting a day earlier than a traditional draw, that left Saturday for all 10 semifinals. So, in addition to Championship Sunday, we now added Semifinal Saturday. It was a new and interesting twist, one which will be used again in North Carolina. There were other top stories from Red Rock.

 

 

The mixed doubles draw was a very competitive event. It ended with the last match of the whole tournament on Sunday, between Dekel Bar/Parris Todd and Christian Alshon/Catherine Parenteau. The absence of Ben Johns created an opportunity for someone besides Johns/Anna Leigh Waters to net a mixed gold. You could sense the players saw this opportunity and were trying just a little bit harder. It all came down to a very long match extending into Sunday night, with Bar/Todd prevailing 11-9, 12-14, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8. That was as good of a match as anyone will ever see. The players were clearly exhausted at the end, having left it all out on the court.

 

It is not easy to win a medal at men’s or women’s doubles. This year, only 11 on each side have done it. At Red Rock, a newcomer to the PPA Tour, Christa Gecheva came oh so close. Paired with Kaitlyn Christian, Gecheva and Christian were seeded #15, but had a major upset over #3 Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson. They then took out #9 seed Mary Brascia/Maggie Brascia to earn a spot in the semifinals. Unfortunately, they lost their semifinal and also the bronze match to finish just outside the medal stand. But Gecheva in particular played very solid pickleball all week, with good drops and drives and good hands at the kitchen line. Christian used a big forehand to win many points. It will be interesting to see if this new partnership can consistently win at this high level.

 

 

 

Men’s doubles is the Mount Everest of pickleball. If you can win gold medals at men’s doubles, you can potentially lay claim to being the best player on the planet. Through 2024, Ben Johns along with brother Collin Johns had been at the pinnacle for awhile. With their split up in 2025, the question then became, who will lay claim to the top of the sport? Would Ben keep his spot, with Gabe Tardio at his side? Or would challengers emerge and contest for the top spot?

 

Early in 2025, Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud looked like they might grab the #1 spot in men’s doubles. But, then along came the duo of Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu. Alshon and Daescu notched back-to-back wins in Arizona, and with a final in Red Rock with both Staksrud/Patriquin and Alshon/Daescu, we would now see one of the two teams make a major claim for #1. 

 

It was indeed as expected a great match. Alshon/Daescu emerged with the victory 12-10, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5. For now, Alshon/Daescu are at the very top of the sport. But, the North Carolina draw includes Johns/Tardio. One thing about being #1 is that you have to prove it again each tournament.

 

 

 

While the men’s side is a constant battle for #1, no such battle exists on the women’s side. Every tournament just further demonstrates how far Anna Leigh Waters is above the field. In singles, she did not lose a game and gave up less than three points per game on average. In women’s doubles, paired with Catherine Parenteau, things were a little closer, but again Waters (and Parenteau) did not lose a single game. One of these days, Waters will not be so dominant, but there is no indication that day is any time soon.

 

 

 

I did ok on my Red Rock predictions. I hit six of the 10 finalists. On the good side, I picked the men’s doubles and women’s singles finals exactly right. But I had a big miss on men’s singles. Men’s singles and doubles remain the hardest events to predict, so getting doubles exactly right was pretty good. On to North Carolina!

 

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