The last event of the 2024 season was the CIBC PPA Tour Finals presented by ROAR Organic. It took place at the San Clemente Life Time Fitness, generally regarded as the best venue on the PPA Tour. We had some unseasonably cold weather for San Clemente, and a couple of days of fog, but the play on the court was hot.

 

1. The hunt for singles gold. Men’s singles is one of the hardest events to predict. Ben Johns may still be the best player, but he no longer dominates. We now see a lot of different winners in men’s singles on the PPA Tour, and all eight of the players at the Finals had a legitimate shot at the gold. The winner ended up being Hunter Johnson, who rode a big serve to victory over Connor Garnett. Watch for Johnson to be a force in men’s singles throughout 2025.

 

 

2. The best rivalry shines. The best rivalry in pro pickleball is clearly in women’s doubles. Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau v Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher is always must see pickleball. Every match they play is hotly contested, and Sunday was no different. Bright and Rohrabacher took game one, but Waters and Parenteau rattled off the next three to take the title. Expect to see those two teams play in a lot of gold medal finals in 2025.

 

 

3. Triple crowns getting harder. Anna Leigh Waters took down another triple crown on the women’s side. But, that road is getting tougher all the time. She was tested in each event. Women’s doubles is hotly contested, and the gap is closing some in singles and mixed doubles. In singles, Kate Fahey continues to push Waters, and Parris Todd is also improving. Waters is going to win some triple crowns, but at a decreasing rate in 2025. On the men’s side, Ben Johns came nowhere near a triple crown, as he was ousted in pool play in singles and men’s doubles. It looks like triple crowns on the men’s side might be rare in 2025.

 

 

4. A new #1 team? In men’s doubles, Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud took the gold medal, winning surprisingly easily over Gabe Tardio and JW Johnson. The Patriquin/Staksrud duo remain perfect, having won gold in each tournament where they have played together. Are they the new top dogs of men’s doubles? Can they dominate in 2025? The Tardio/Johnson pairing looks very strong, so there will be a lot of competition going forward. It will be interesting to see how 2025 shakes out in men’s doubles.

 

 

Although the calendar has not changed yet to 2025, the PPA Tour calendar effectively changes now that the Tour Finals are over. The next tournament is the Daytona Beach Open presented by ROAR Organic, beginning December 18. The points from that event will count toward the 2025 PPA Tour Finals. After Daytona and a break for the holidays, the PPA Tour will be back in January for a California/Arizona swing of four tournaments. A lot to look forward to for 2025.

 

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