A year ago, in December 2025, I did a column with 25 predictions for 2025. None were anywhere close to a sure thing. Some were mild longshots, others were laughed at as having no chance to come true.

 

Now that 2025 is over, let’s see how that crystal ball from a year ago actually turned out.

 

Here are all the predictions, graded in terms of how each hit or missed.

 

1. 2025 will be Ben Johns' last year as the consensus #1 player.

 

Grade: Incomplete. He has already fallen to #10 in singles. His MLP performance left something to be desired. He is still excellent in doubles. It will be interesting to see how 2026 goes. This will be a close one, as some pros already do not accept that Johns is still the consensus #1.

 

2. By the end of 2025, the twoey will dominate and players with an exclusively one-hand backhand will be an oddity.

 

Grade: Nailed this one, big hit. Probably my best prediction for 2025. Players who one year ago never or almost never hit a twoey, now use it with frequency. Ben Johns, Jay Devilliers, Federico Staksrud, Christian Alshon, the list goes on and on.

 

3. In the Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson breakup, Johnson will do much better than Frazier. Frazier will dabble in left side play, but go back to the right side where he is best. 

 

Grade: Big hit, 100% true.

 

4. Matt Wright will win zero medals in 2025. I did a podcast with Zane Navratil to go over the 2025 predictions, and he asked if this one was serious. I said “sort of.” I said the realistic over-under was probably more like in the 3-5 range, but the point of the prediction was to say time would finally catch up with Wright and he would now decline. Wright won one medal in 2025, and it was flukey. He now regularly loses early in mixed doubles, and has declined in men’s doubles.

 

Grade: Barely a miss, but it will be true in 2026.

 

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5. James Ignatowich falls out of the top 10.

 

Grade: Big hit.

 

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6. Kate Fahey will beat Anna Leigh Waters in singles and be closing in as a top 5 doubles player by the end of 2025.

 

Grade: Miss. Fahey did not beat Waters in 2025, and in doubles she has improved, but not as much as I expected.

 

7. Collin Johns will fade down the rankings, and the public will recognize by the end of 2025 that he is not a top 20 player.

 

Grade: Hit.

 

8. Chirping will be a big issue in 2025, and there will be at least one fight over it. 

 

Grade: Hit. I like a good chirp, but the sport needs some limits on chirping.

 

9. Quang Duong will be the first pick in the 2025 MLP Draft, and Fahey will be second, to St. Louis, who will pick her back up after dropping her. 

 

Grade: Half right.

 

10. Genie Bouchard will move well up the rankings, finishing in the top 10 in singles and top 20 in doubles.

 

Grade: Half right. She is #9 in singles, but only #47 in doubles. Her doubles game has not progressed as much as I expected.

 

11. Pickleball on TV will grow in 2025, but 2026 will be the year it takes off. 

 

Grade: Incomplete as to 2026, but this one is looking good.

 

12. A lot of pickleball facilities will continue to open, but we will start to see many facilities close. 

 

Grade: Hit.

 

13. Stadium courts will start to be a thing, with facilities opening more spectator-friendly courts.

 

Grade: Mostly a miss. We have seen some, but not as many as expected. Maybe it will follow TV.

 

14. There will be more paddle wars, with paddles speeding up even more. 

 

Grade: Hit.

 

15. Faster play will predominate, with more drives, fewer dinks, and more speedups off the bounce.

 

Grade: Hit.

 

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16. More tennis players will switch to pickleball, following the lead of Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard. 

 

Grade: Mostly miss. I have been surprised we have not seen more good, but not great tennis pros switch over. Another prediction that may just be a year early.

 

17. Donald Young will pass up Jack Sock as the #1 tennis-to-pickleball convert. 

 

Grade: Miss, but it is closer than you probably think. In doubles, Sock is #35 and Young is #39.

 

18. By the end of 2025, at least one player will seemingly come out of nowhere to be a top 25 player.

 

Grade: Very close. Blaine Hovenier is #27 and Jonathan Truong is #29; those are the closest on the men’s side. For women, Ting Chieh Wei is #25 and Danni-Elle Townsend is #27.

 

19. Fans will recognize that CJ Klinger is the best lefty in the game. 

 

Grade: Big hit. When I did a poll back in late 2024, Klinger was top 5, but the vast majority of people had Tyler Loong, Augie Ge, and Pablo Tellez ahead of him. Not anymore.

 

20. Ben Johns will win at most one Triple Crown in 2025. His days of winning triples with any frequency are over.

 

Grade: Big hit, as he won zero.

 

21. Federico Staksrud will stop playing mixed with regular partner Rachel Rohrabacher and will switch to Kate Fahey. 

 

Grade: Half right. He has stopped with Rohrabacher, but has not (at least not yet) played with Fahey.

 

22. Jorja Johnson will end 2025 regarded as the #2 women's player. 

 

Grade: Mixed. There is an argument there for her as #2, but also an argument for Anna Bright and for Tyra Black.

 

23. Anna Bright will settle on one steady mixed partner and have a lot of success.

 

Grade: Miss. She played a fair amount with Hayden Patriquin, but not as much as I thought she would. And she had some success, but again not as much as I thought she would. The Johnsons were a very tough #2 team in 2025.

 

24. Paddle sponsorships for pros will drop a lot in terms of how much they are paid.

 

Grade: Big hit. The numbers are way down, probably even more than I had thought they would drop.

 

25. St. Louis will win MLP 2025. 

 

Grade: Miss. They were the best regular season team, but did not get it done in the playoffs.

 

Well, there you have it. About half of the predictions came 100% true, which is pretty darn good. Only five were complete misses. The crystal ball worked pretty well. Look for a column soon with 2026 predictions!

 

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