Hunter Johnson captured his second career PPA title with an 11-4, 0-11, 11-3 victory over top-seeded Federico Staksrud.

As the score line indicates, Sunday’s third match on Humana Championship Court was a back-and-forth affair.

Both Johnson and Staksrud had extended periods of devastating brilliance, but Johnson found another gear in the third game and comfortably triumphed.

This win—Johnson’s second over the Argentinian this year—feels especially good for Johnson because Staksrud beat him in the semifinals of the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships just a week ago.

“Fed got me the last time we played in the semis in Dallas, so I wanted my revenge,” he mentioned. “We’re good friends off the court, so we know it’s always gonna be a battle when we play.”

2024 has been a year of impressive progression for Johnson; the former tennis pro started the season with tough draws as a low seed, but he’s climbed up the singles rankings with consistently solid results.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” he said. “I started off the year losing eight second-round matches in a row, but I knew that if I could just continue to get some confidence and keep building that things would hopefully turn around.”

It looks like they certainly have.

Both Johnson and Staksrud have qualified for the CIBC PPA Tour Finals in men’s singles, so they’ll next be in action at that event running Dec. 4-8 in San Clemente, CA.

In the bronze medal match, No. 30 seed Adam Harvey defeated No. 5 seed Pablo Tellez 11-5, 11-5 to cap a career-best run in Milwaukee and secure his first career PPA medal.