Anna Bright hits a pickleball forehand dink.
Anna Bright and Ben Johns competing at the Veolia LA Open presented by Deep Eddy Vodka. PPA Tour

Bright, Johns into mixed doubles final

LOS ANGELES, CA - Coming into California, both Anna Bright and Ben Johns had made it to Championship Sunday with two different partners in 2024.

Now, they’ve both done so with three.

The top-seeded tandem will go for gold on Sunday after a convincing 11-3, 11-2 victory over No. 8 seeds Tina Pisnik and Collin Johns in the semifinals.

The two have competed against each other extensively in mixed doubles (the majority of those matches occurring in the finals), and Bright has enjoyed being on the same side of the net as Johns, for once.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” she mentioned. “I was definitely pretty nervous about it at first. I also haven’t made a deep run in mixed in a few tournaments, so I was feeling just a bit out of rhythm, but as the day went on, I played better and better.”

The pair’s rise in level became evident in the later rounds, and they didn’t falter once after dropping the first game of their Round of 16 match against Lina Padegimaite and Rafa Hewett.

Bright and Johns will face No. 2 seeds Vivienne David and Thomas Wilson on Championship Sunday.

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