Anna Leigh Waters competing at the Greater Zion Cup in St. George, Utah.
Anna Leigh Waters competing at the Greater Zion Cup in St. George, Utah. PPA Tour

Johns, Tardio win five-game thriller for men’s doubles gold as Waters overcomes Fahey for Triple Crown

The second half of Carvana Championship Sunday in southwestern Utah delivered some of the week’s most memorable matches, as Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio, Anna Bright, and Anna Leigh Waters struck gold in men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and women’s singles respectively

Johns/Tardio continued their perfect 2026 campaign with a 13-11, 3-11, 3-11, 11-2, 11-7 victory over No. 2 seeds Hayden Patriquin/Christian Alshon.

The top seeds appeared to be in danger of suffering their first loss of the season after dropping Games 2 and 3, but they rebounded to pull off the comeback and capture their 15th title as a partnership.

 

“I felt like we were all hitting our spots pretty well, and then it just kind of became a game of who was countering the best,” Johns said of the performance. “It’s a little bit of chaos out there sometimes when it’s going every which way, but I did my best to stick to the patterns and try to counter as best I could, but all around I felt like we all played a pretty good match there.”

On the women’s side, Waters/Bright continued their dominant run with an 11-3, 11-3, 11-0 victory over No. 4 seeds Parris Todd/Kate Fahey.

This week saw the top seeds reach the height of their powers as they gave up just 15 total points through their five matches.

 

In the final bout of the weekend, Waters and Fahey returned to the court to square off in the women’s singles final.

Fahey jumped out to a stunning 10-0 lead before eventually taking Game 1 11-8 for her first game win over Waters since last May, but Waters came back to take the next two for a hard-fought 8-11, 11-3, 11-2 victory in what was the third match of the day for both athletes.

 

“This week I was battling some things, but I honestly kept telling myself, ‘If I have to die on this court, I will,’” Waters shared afterwards. “Kate was playing absolutely insane and I was just trying to battle for every point.”

After a long week in the Black Desert, Waters and several other top pros will now travel across the world to Vietnam for PPA Tour Asia’s MB Hanoi Cup, which begins on Wednesday, April 1.