
Johns bros avenge Atlanta loss, dominate Wright, Staksrud to make men’s doubles final
The last time Ben and Collin Johns faced off against Federico Staksrud and Matt Wright, they fell by a 3-11, 5-11 score line in the semifinals of the Atlanta Open back in May.
They had to wait five months for a shot at revenge, but they certainly made it count when the opportunity arose in Las Vegas.
The top seeds put on a clinical display to take an 11-4, 11-0 victory over the No. 3 seeds.
For B. Johns, everything just felt right on the court.
"The ball and conditions felt really good,” he mentioned. “The drives felt low and hard, and then the follow-up drops just felt real crisp. It was definitely hot earlier in the day, but now it’s kind of gotten to that perfect intermediate zone.”
Despite the lopsided score line, the encounter had one of the strangest endings to a match that we’ve seen in pro pickleball.
After getting back on serve at 0-10 in the second game, Staksrud received a technical warning for unsportsmanlike conduct for using profanity on court.
One point later, Wright received a technical warning for something that the referee heard him say to Staksrud. Two technical warnings on the same team results in a loss of a point, but because Staksrud and Wright were at 0, a point was instead awarded to the Johns bros.
That action, of course, ended the match. It also prompted Wright to have a tense interaction with Head PPA Referee Don Stanley.
Unfortunately for them, the Johns bros know how it feels to be handed a point deduction from repeated technical warnings; it happened to them in last week’s final in Virginia Beach as a result of not clearly signaling when calling timeouts.
Even though the penalty sealed the deal on Saturday, C. Johns doesn’t think it made a difference in the match’s outcome.
“I don’t know if it was the right call or not, but we ended up winning on that, and I feel like we would have finished it regardless,” he said.
On Sunday, the top seeds will face the winner of the second semifinal pitting No. 2 seeds JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier against No. 8 seeds Andrei Daescu and James Ignatowich.
Related articles

Beyond the court: The moments that shaped Anna Leigh Waters' journey to 200 titles
From welcoming Archer into her life to walking the red carpet at the ESPYs, she has accomplished so much at such a young age.
1 day ago
-Victoria Radnothy

Bellamy powers past Haworth for first 2026 title as Waters earns Triple Crown
Roscoe Bellamy earned his second career PPA Tour title in the Windy City. He'll look to replicate this week's success at next week's event in Virginia Beach.
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff

Anna Leigh Waters reflects on 200 PPA Tour titles: ‘It’s been a crazy ride’
66 of Waters' titles, including Sunday morning's, have come next to Ben Johns in mixed doubles.
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff

Order of play for Carvana Championship Sunday at the Veolia Chicago Cup
Hurricane Tyra Black and Catherine Parenteau will take on Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright for women's doubles gold for the second time in two weeks.
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff