Jessie Irvine hitting a pickleball backhand.
Jessie Irvine competing for the Phoenix Flames at Edward Jones MLP Phoenix. Major League Pickleball

LIVE BLOG: The latest news and updates from MLP Phoenix

The 2025 Major League Pickleball season continues this week at Edward Jones MLP Phoenix, where seven Premier level teams will be in action across four days at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.

This is the fourth of ten regular season events that will take place between April and August, and each team will play a total of 25 matches during the regular season before the playoffs.

Broadcast coverage will be available on Pickleballtv starting at 3pm PT.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day.

10:10pm PT: Brooklyn bounces back, sweeps SoCal

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team (4-4, 14pts) swept the SoCal Hard Eights (0-5, 2pts) in Friday's final match at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.

 

This is a nice response for Brooklyn after falling to the Dallas Flash earlier in the evening.

Both Brooklyn and SoCal will face the Atlanta Bouncers on Saturday.

8:50pm PT: Black Diamonds extinguish Flames for second straight win

The Utah Black Diamonds (2-3, 7pts) scored their second consecutive victory in the desert with a 3-1 triumph over the Phoenix Flames (3-8, 9pts).

The pairings of Allyce Jones/Genie Erokhina and Connor Garnett/Tyler Loong each won their gender doubles matches to give Utah a 2-0 lead going into mixed doubles.

From there, Jones/Garnett won a highly entertaining encounter against the Flames’ Jessie Irvine/Tyson McGuffin to give the Black Diamonds the coveted third game and secure the regulation victory.

 

Garnett spoke about what it took to clinch the win.

“[Jessie and Tyson] got off to a strong start, so we just had to weather the storm and bring the energy,” he said. “We changed up a few things and slowed it down a little bit at the end, and we were able to find some success and get that one done.”

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday; Utah will face the Dallas Flash and Los Angeles Mad Drops, while Phoenix will take on Dallas in Saturday’s nightcap.

8:35pm PT: Brooklyn Pickleball Team (A) v. SoCal Hard Eights (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team (3-4, 11pts) will face the SoCal Hard Eights (0-4, 2pts) in Friday’s final bout on Toray Championship Court.

Both teams will be looking to bounce back from losses earlier in the day; Brooklyn lost to the Dallas Flash in regulation, while SoCal fell to the Los Angeles Mad Drops in a DreamBreaker.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

8:20pm PT: Dallas continues dominance with wins over Brooklyn, Atlanta

The Dallas Flash (11-0, 31pts) kept their blistering pace on Friday with regulation victories over the Brooklyn Pickleball Team and Atlanta Bouncers.

Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson were the stars of the show for the Flash; against Brooklyn, they overcame a 4-10 deficit against Rachel Rohrabacher/Dekel Bar to secure a regulation win.

 

Against Atlanta, they pickled Victoria DiMuzio/Todd Fought to go along with Jorja's earlier pickle performance alongside Tyra Black in women's doubles.

The defending champions will look to stay hot when they face the Utah Black Diamonds and Phoenix Flames on Saturday.

7:10pm PT: Mad Drops outlast Hard Eights in DreamBreaker

The Los Angeles Mad Drops (3-3, 9pts) picked up their second straight win in the desert with a DreamBreaker triumph over their in-state rivals, the SoCal Hard Eights (0-4, 2pts).

The Mad Drops, playing without usual starter Quang Duong, were aided by wins from Jade Kawamoto in women’s doubles alongside Catherine Parenteau and mixed doubles alongside Hunter Johnson.

That helped Los Angeles force a DreamBreaker, where Kawamoto shined once again.

She outscored Irina Tereschenko 6-2 through two rotations to help the Mad Drops come away with a 21-16 victory.

Los Angeles will next face the Utah Black Diamonds on Saturday, while SoCal will close out Friday’s action against the Brooklyn Pickleball Team.

6:30pm PT: Phoenix Flames (A) v. Utah Black Diamonds (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Phoenix Flames (3-7, 9pts) will return to Toray Championship Court to face the Utah Black Diamonds (1-3, 4pts).

Both teams are coming off victories over the Atlanta Bouncers; Utah won in regulation on Thursday, while Phoenix earned a DreamBreaker triumph in the Friday’s first match.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

5:30pm PT: SoCal Hard Eights (A) v. Los Angeles Mad Drops (H): Pre-Match Notes

The SoCal Hard Eights (0-3, 1pt) will face the Los Angeles Mad Drops (2-3, 7pts) in the first match of the weekend on Grandstand Court.

The Hard Eights are looking for their first win of the season, but they will have Irina Tereschenko back in the lineup after Jalina Ingram filled in for her on Thursday and made her MLP debut.

The Mad Drops will still be without Quang Duong, who was suspended by the UPA earlier this week for participating in a non-PPA event. On-site alternate Spencer Smith will take his place.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

4:55pm PT: Flames outlast Bouncers in DreamBreaker

The Phoenix Flames (3-7, 9pts) earned their first victory in front of their home crowd with a DreamBreaker triumph over the Atlanta Bouncers (3-8, 9pts).

Tyson McGuffin picked up wins in men’s and mixed doubles to help Phoenix force a DreamBreaker after trailing 1-2, and he continued to be the X-factor with the match on the line.

With teams tied at 18-18 in the deciding contest, he scored three of four points against Todd Fought to give the Flames their third victory of the season.

 

McGuffin spoke about the energy that comes with playing in front of the hometown Phoenix crowd.

“It definitely gets the juices flowing,” he said. “The fans here are very passionate, so we love being able to play in Phoenix.”

Both Atlanta and Phoenix will be back on court later Friday evening. The Bouncers will face the Dallas Flash, and the Flames will take on the Utah Black Diamonds.

4:30pm PT: Dallas Flash (A) v. Brooklyn Pickleball Team (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Dallas Flash (9-0, 25pts) will take on the Brooklyn Pickleball Team (3-3, 11pts).

Both teams won their opening matches in Arizona on Thursday in regulation; Dallas beat the SoCal Hard Eights, while Brooklyn defeated the Los Angeles Mad Drops.

Even though Brooklyn has only a .500 winning percentage so far, all three of their losses have come against teams near the top of the standings: the Texas Ranchers, New Jersey 5s, and St. Louis Shock.

They will look to pick up a signature win on Friday.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

2:50pm PT: Atlanta Bouncers (A) v. Phoenix Flames (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Atlanta Bouncers (3-7, 8pts) will take on the Phoenix Flames (2-7, 7pts) in Friday's first bout. 

Both squads will be looking to rebound from losses on Thursday; the Bouncers fell to the Utah Black Diamonds, while the Flames lost to the Los Angeles Mad Drops.

On a more positive note, Phoenix will have Genie Bouchard back in the lineup after she had to miss Thursday's match.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

Friday's Order of Play released

Here is the Order of Play for the six matches being played on Friday:

 

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