The Las Vegas Pickleball Cup is in the books.

This progressive draw tournament was held on the Las Vegas Strip, at the Fontainebleau Resort.

 

It was the inaugural year for the event, and it had some great action.

 

 

The venue was hard to beat. The tournament was held in the Royal Ballroom, so that all 30+ courts were in one giant room. Access to watch play on every court was easy for the fans. Humana Championship Court and Grandstand Court had the best setup of any event all year; not a bad seat in the house. For fans, this was probably the best event on the tour. But, setting up 30+ courts on a carpeted floor was a difficult task. The pickleball court mats were fine, but the platforms on which they were laid had some issues. Players had to put up with some bad bounces. As this tournament was the first of its kind, it is a learning process. Next year, my understanding is the court mats will be laid down on wood platforms, more similar to basketball courts. This should eliminate issues with the inconsistent bounces.

 

 

Kate Fahey was a big story at this tournament. Coming off her gold medal in singles the prior week, everyone was wondering if she could follow it up. Seeded a low #17 in singles, Fahey showed last week was no fluke, as she advanced to the finals, defeating such singles veterans as Judit Castillo, Lea Jansen, Mary Brascia, and Lacy Schneemann along the way. Indeed, Fahey did not lose a single game until the final. Of course, in the final, Fahey ran into the buzzsaw known as Anna Leigh Waters, but losing to ALW is no disgrace. Fahey now must be considered as potentially the second best singles player on the women’s side. She is also making progress in doubles events. Look for Fahey to be talked about as a top 5 overall player within the year.

 

 

 

Riley Newman has had an iffy 2024 on the PPA Tour. But he came back strong in Las Vegas. He grabbed a bronze in men’s doubles with Christian Alshon and a silver in mixed with Catherine Parenteau. Newman looked to be back close to his full speed. Of course, playing with top partners didn’t hurt. It will be interesting to see if Newman can be a steady top 5 player the rest of 2024.

 

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters snagged another Triple Crown, and did so in dominating fashion. She was so dominating, it seemed just routine for her to steamroll her opponents in every event. She only lost one game all week! In women’s doubles, ALW and Parenteau lost only 28 points; that was an average of less than 2.5 points per game. Just complete domination. The women’s side could really benefit from someone stepping up to challenge ALW, but that day is not currently in sight.

 

 

 

No one is more consistent than Federico Staksrud in singles. Staksrud rolled to another gold, dropping only one game on the way. Staksrud’s kryptonite this year has been Ben Johns. But no Ben in the event this week, so Staksrud rolled. Also in men’s singles, #33 seed Noe Khlif continues to make progress, getting to the quarters. Khlif is a player to watch.

 

 

 

Gabe Tardio snagged another doubles gold, this time in men's doubles, alongside Andrei Daescu. Tardio was the best player all week. Opponents stayed away from him as much as possible. Tardio displayed great patience. Often, rallies would have 10-20 balls hit, none to Tardio, but when he did get a chance, he would often put the ball away. Tardio is top 10 for sure, the question now is how high can he go? Is #1 a possibility?

 

 

Next up is the CIBC Atlanta Slam. Catch all the action on PickleballTV.

 

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