The PPA Tour is turning back the clock this week in Sacramento by having pros use wooden paddles, but Gabe Joseph and Federico Staksrud were still able to find their best stuff on the singles court.

After straight-game victories in the semifinals, the two are set to face off on Championship Sunday.

Joseph kicked off semifinal action with an 11-5, 11-4 victory over No. 13 seed Chris Haworth in the first-ever meeting between the two.

The No. 8 seed demonstrated great variety on his third shots, expertly using a mix of drives and aggressively placed drops.

Despite the change in equipment for this tournament, the California native says he feels really comfortable playing with the wooden paddle.

“I was lucky enough to get out here last week and starting training with it, and I really like it,” he shared. “I feel like the ball just sits in the paddle, which I know sounds super weird now that we have all these juiced paddles on the market, but it feels good, and I feel like I can really go after my shots.”

This win sends Joseph into his second singles final of the 2025 season.

In the second semifinal, No. 2 seed Federico Staksrud beat No. 3 seed Connor Garnett by an 11-8, 11-1 score line.

After trailing 4-7 in the opening game, Staksrud went on to score 18 of the next 20 points to advance to his fourth singles final of the year.

“I think today was about who adjusted the fastest to these conditions, and I think I did a pretty good job of trying to hit everything flat,” Staksrud said of Thursday’s performance. “I started every match down, so I just had to get used to the conditions and eventually started to feel more comfortable as each match went on.”

Joseph won their most recent encounter last month in Bristol, so Staksrud will be looking for revenge on Sunday with a gold medal on the line.