LIVE BLOG: The latest news and updates from the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships presented by Ensure Max Protein
The Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships presented by Ensure Max Protein begin Tuesday at Life Time Peachtree Corners, with first round matches being played in singles, mixed doubles, and gender doubles.
This is the second of four ‘slams’ on the 2025 PPA calendar, with 2000 ranking points awarded to the gold medalists in each discipline.
Live broadcast coverage is available on Pickleballtv and the pbtv app starting at 10am ET.
Stay tuned to this article for live updates throughout the day.
7:15pm ET: Benitez, Campbell outduel Burrows, Jensen in three games
In the final men's doubles match of the day at Life Time Peachtree Corners, Juan Benitez/Cason Campbell picked up an 11-3, 9-11, 11-7 victory over No. 29 seeds Wes Burrows/Danny Jensen.
The No. 34 seeds nearly had a chance to end the match with the score tied at 9-9 in the second game, but Burrows/Jensen went on to force a decider.
In Game 3, Benitez/Campbell trailed 5-7 but went on to score the final six points of the match to advance after over an hour on court.
They will face No. 7 seeds Pablo Tellez/Jaume Martinez Vich on in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.
5:10pm ET: Qualifiers Afanasenka, Emery dispatch Koller, Jakovljevic in two games
Sergey Afanasenka/Alex Emery are into the men's doubles Round of 32 after an 11-6, 11-9 victory over No. 17 seeds AJ Koller/Ivan Jakovljevic on Tuesday afternoon.
The No. 43 seeds fought through three matches in qualifying on Monday and carried that momentum with them to eventually secure a main draw victory.
They will face No. 12 seeds Jay Devilliers/Augie Ge on Wednesday.
4:45pm ET: Newmans triumph in first match together since 2023
Lindsey and Riley Newman played their first match together since August of 2023, coming away with an 11-6, 11-2 victory over No. 51 seeds Allison Phillips/Cason Campbell.
The Newmans have earned ten PPA medals together in mixed doubles and will be looking to make their way back to the podium stand this week.
They will face No. 22 seeds Mary Brascia/Blaine Hovenier on Wednesday in the Round of 32.
3:30pm ET: Irvine and Tardio, Rane and Oncins set clash with three-game victories
The pairings of Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio and Milan Rane/Eric Oncins advanced to the mixed doubles Round of 32 with three-game triumphs Tuesday afternoon.
Irvine/Tardio—the No. 8 seeds this week—defeated No. 58 seeds Hannah Blatt/Yuta Funemizu by an 8-11, 11-1, 11-4 score line.
No. 28 seeds Rane/Oncins also earned a comeback victory, taking down No. 37 seeds Tamaryn Emmrich/Michael Loyd 7-11, 11-5, 11-2 to advance.
Irvine/Tardio and Rane/Oncins will face off each other on Wednesday with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line.
Mixed doubles qualifiers
Here are the nine teams who fought their way through the women's singles qualifying rounds on Monday, and who they'll play on Tuesday:
- Alia Brown/Thomas Yu: will face No. 45 seeds Marcela Hones/Todd Fought.
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11:55am ET: Qualifier Klokotzky dominates Bouchard
Maria Klokotzky booked her spot in the women's singles Round of 32 with an impressive 11-2, 11-6 victory over No. 11 seed Genie Bouchard.
Though Klokotzky came through Monday's qualifying rounds, she's no stranger to big wins on the PPA Tour. She beat Alix Truong and pushed Kate Fahey to three games at the Virginia Beach Cup last October before she and Etienne Blaszkewycz beat Callie Smith and Jack Sock at Worlds in November.
The No. 55 seed will face No. 44 seed Felicity Di Laura on Wednesday.
11:30am ET: Oncins, Protzek score upsets in straight games
Eric Oncins and newly contracted pro Tom Protzek earned upset victories to reach the Round of 32 in men's singles.
Oncins—the No. 54 seed—defeated No. 15 seed Zane Ford 11-6, 11-5. For as good as Oncins has been lately in doubles, he has yet to find a breakthrough run in singles.
A win like this could give the rising star the momentum he needs to make a deep run in the Peach State. Oncins will face No. 21 seed Mohaned Alhouni on Wednesday.
About 20 minutes later, the No. 56 seeded Protzek dispatched No. 9 seed Michael Loyd by an 11-7, 11-8 score line.
Protzek is now 2-0 against Loyd after also beating him in March at the CIBC Texas Open.
“I knew it was going to be tough because he knows all my shots now, but I got it done," Loyd said of the performance. "I’m very, very happy with this win and am looking forward to the Round of 32. We’ll see—maybe I can make a run.”
The former University of Tulsa soccer player came to UPA contract terms on May 2, and it looks like he's already making the most of the opportunity.
Protzek will face No. 18 seed Noe Khlif on Wednesday.
10:45am ET: Di Laura stuns Truong in three games
Felicity Di Laura defeated No. 20 seed Alix Truong 4-11, 11-9, 11-4 to advance to the women’s singles Round of 32.
The No. 44 seed was on the brink of defeat when she trailed 8-9 in the second game after dropping the first, but she used a three-point run to force a decider that she would go on to win comfortably.
Score card showing Felicity Di Laura's 4-11, 11-9, 11-4 victory over Alix Truong. Pickleball.com
She will face either No. 11 seed Genie Bouchard or No. 55 seed Maria Kloklotzky on Wednesday.
10:30am ET: Funaro defeats Ignatowich in straight games
Danna Funaro is into the women's singles Round of 32 after an 11-8, 11-4 victory over No. 16 seed Ava Ignatowich.
A theme of the day so far has been the strong performance of the No. 49 seeds in singles; Funaro picked up a win in that seed, while Zane Navratil did the same thing with a win over Gabe Joseph earlier in the day in men's singles.
Funaro will face either No. 17 seed Angie Walker—who is fresh off a Triple Crown at the New England PPA Challenger—or No. 42 seed Rachel Summers on Wednesday.
Women's singles qualifiers
- Here are the eight players who fought their way through the women's singles qualifying rounds on Monday, and who they'll play in the Round of 64:
- Maria Klokotzky: will face No. 11 seed Genie Bouchard.
- Estee Widdershoven: will face No. 7 seed Catherine Parenteau.
- Helen To: will face No. 5 seed Brooke Buckner.
- Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva: will face No. 6 seed Lea Jansen.
- Ho Tâm: will face No. 10 seed Mary Brascia.
- Yufei Long: will face No. 9 seed Chao Yi (Zoey) Wang.
- Ting Chieh Wei: will face No. 8 seed Salome Devidze.
- Alia Brown: will face No. 12 seed Dominique Schaefer.
9:40am ET: Doubles partners French, Stone earn upset victories in singles
Brandon French and Wyatt Stone will be the sharing the court this week in men's doubles, but it seems like they're also on the same wavelength in singles.
Both players—seeded No. 46 and No. 45, respectively—secured upset wins on Tuesday morning to advance to the Round of 32.
French kicked things off with an 11-6, 11-9 victory over No. 19 seed Yates Johnson.
A few minutes later, Stone followed suit with an 11-3, 8-11, 11-8 triumph over No. 17 seed Rafa Hewett.
Score card showing Wyatt Stone's 11-3, 8-11, 11-8 victory over Rafa Hewett. Pickleball.com
We'll see if French and Stone can find the same success on the doubles court.
9:05am ET: Kusmider picks up first PPA win in nearly two years
After a hiatus from pro pickleball that lasted nearly two years, Jake Kusmider is back into the winner's circle on the PPA Tour.
He's into the men's singles Round of 64 after an 11-3, 11-4 victory over Caden Nemoff.
The last PPA tournament that Kusmider played was in Atlanta in 2023, where he earned a bronze medal. He'll be looking to match that success when he takes on No. 8 seed Dylan Frazier next.
8:55am ET: Navratil downs Joseph in straight games
Zane Navratil is into the men's singles Round of 32 after an 11-8, 11-6 victory over No. 14 seed Gabe Joseph.
This might seem like a huge upset—the 49 seed beating the 14 seed—Navratil's low seeding has little to do with his skill and more to do with the fact that he only plays singles at the big tournaments, like Cups and Slams.
He will face the winner of the bout between No. 23 seed John Lucian Goins and No. 44 seed Ross Whittaker on Wednesday.
Men’s singles qualifiers
- Here are the eight players who fought their way through the men’s singles qualifying rounds on Monday:
- Dennis Uspensky: will face No. 62 seed Carlos Di Laura.
- Jake Kusmider: will face No. 66 seed Caden Nemoff.
- Ronan Camron: will face No. 58 seed Ryan Eveloff.
- Luca Mack: will face No. 57 seed Tam Trinh.
- Rio Newcombe: will face No. 61 seed Juan Benitez.
- Vincent Rettke: will face No. 63 seed Martin Emmrich.
- Connor McCartney: will face No. 59 seed Stephen Madonia.
- Alexander Crum: will face No. 60 seed Todd Fought.
Notable withdrawal: Jack Sock
Jack Sock withdrew from all three events on Monday due to an ankle injury. He was set to compete in men’s singles, men’s doubles with Eric Roddy, and mixed doubles with his Phoenix Flames teammate, Genie Bouchard.
Lucky loser Thomas Provost will take Sock’s spot as the No. 10 seed in the men’s singles draw and face No. 52 seed Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez in the first round.
Top Storylines
Check out this video to see my top five storylines ahead of the PPA’s return to the Peach State:
Order of Play released
Here is Tuesday’s Order of Play:
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