2025 is now almost in the rearview mirror, with 2026 on the horizon. That makes it time to recognize the highlights of 2025, the best performers, best partnerships, and best new faces on the PPA Tour.

 

 

Let’s start with an easy one, but an important one. Who was the best player of 2025? Obviously, it is and has to be Anna Leigh Waters. Just when you think she cannot be any more dominant, she proves you wrong. Gold medal after gold medal, Triple Crown after Triple Crown, ALW just keeps going. In MLP, she was 59-11; that’s pretty darn good. She dominated singles, she dominated women’s doubles, she dominated mixed doubles. But perhaps the best thing about her is that she gives maximum effort on every point. I will always remember her playing in a rare bronze match in 2025. The other three players gave less than full effort, but not ALW. She played every point of that match like it was the most important point she ever played. Other players may get criticized (and rightly so) for not always giving a solid effort, but not Waters. She will give the fans her max effort every time, and she should be commended for it. Waters is the player of the year for 2025, and it was not close.

 

 

 

There are a couple of candidates here, but it has to go to Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio. Men’s doubles is very deep, with four dominant teams and a whole host of other teams that are very good. The 10th seed in men’s doubles is much closer to #1 than in mixed doubles or in women’s doubles. Thus, to do as well in men’s doubles as they have is a testament to how good Johns and Tardio have been. Johns has been re-energized playing with Tardio, and Tardio continues to show why he is the best right side player in the world. Can they be as dominant in 2026 as they were in 2025?

 

 

 

There were obviously a lot of great tournament runs by many different players, but the single best performance of any one player in 2025 had to be Andrei Daescu in the 2025 MLP Playoffs. His Columbus team was considered good, but not necessarily a top candidate to win it all. Indeed, the Dallas Flash picked Columbus as their early opponent in the MLP Playoffs for the simple reason they did not think Columbus was a championship threat. Columbus, led by Daescu, showed Dallas why they chose poorly. But Daescu was not done once Dallas was defeated. He led Columbus to the MLP Championship. He was the MVP of the MLP Playoffs, and no one else was remotely close. Daescu played great, and he was also the heart and soul of that team, exercising great leadership. He was a beast in the MLP Playoffs and his performance there was the best of 2025.

 

 

 

Players move up and down the PPA rankings. Being top 10 one year guarantees nothing for the next year. One player who shot up the rankings in 2025 and is our most improved player of 2025 is Eric Oncins. Oncins was as of 2024 so far down the list that he was an afterthought draft pick at the Challenger Level in MLP. He closes 2025 as the 11th ranked men’s doubles player. That is quite a leap, and he is deservedly the most improved player in all of PPA for 2025. Can he now crack the top 8, a very tough group, in 2026?

 

 

 

The best newcomer to the PPA Tour in 2025 has to be Chris Haworth in men’s singles. Haworth joined PPA in 2025, and was rewarded with a #57 seed to start. He closes the year with a gold medal at Daytona Beach and a #6 ranking. Not bad, to say the least. There is clearly more to come, and watch for Haworth to be even better in 2026.

 

 

 

As a player, a grinder is someone who makes the opponent always hit one more shot. They play great defense and force the opponents to make ball after ball. Grinders are very tough to play, and they make you earn every point. The best grinders of 2025 are Jade and Jackie Kawamoto. You always know what you will get from the Kawamotos. They are going to defend like crazy, dink steadily, lob at key moments, and reset and counterattack. There’s no such thing as an easy point against the Kawamotos. They always give top effort and are always a tough out. If a young player wants to emulate someone, you could do a lot worse than emulating the Kawamotos.

 

 

 

This is a tough one. Players like Hayden Patriquin and Anna Leigh Waters are not exactly old, but they were well established even before 2025, so I am talking about players who are teenagers, but are on their way to establishing a name for themselves. For 2025, I will give this one to John Lucian Goins. Only 17, Goins won two gold medals in singles, and made progress in doubles toward the end of the year. How far up the ladder can he climb in 2026?

 

 

2025 was a great year on the PPA Tour. 2026 will be bigger and better than ever. Check out Pickleball.com for all the news and Pickleballtv for all the action.

 

Follow me on X @pickleball_jim.