LIVE BLOG: The latest results and news from the CIBC PPA Tour Finals presented by ROAR Organic
The CIBC PPA Tour Finals presented by ROAR Organic begin on Wednesday at Life Time Rancho San Clemente in Southern California.
The players have been separated into two pools (ATP Pool and Erne Pool) in each event: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
Players will compete within their pool, with two players and teams from each pool qualifying for the semifinal and final rounds.
Broadcast coverage is available on Pickleballtv and YouTube.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.
6:10 p.m. PT: Humberg and Irvine, Bright and Rohrabacher win Erne Pool debuts
The pairings of Mari Humberg/Jessie Irvine and Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher capped Wednesday's action with victories in the Erne Pool in women's doubles.
Humberg/Irvine got the job done against Tyra Black/Allyce Jones by a 7-11, 11-6, 11-3 score line. They dialed in their third shot drives after dropping the opening game, which gave them opportunities to be aggressive and earn quick points on serve.
Bright/Rohrabacher did the same with an 11-0, 11-8 triumph over Callie Smith/Lucy Kovalova. After taking the first game in a pickle in just six minutes, they fell into a 1-5 deficit in Game 2 before eventually rallying to get the job done in two games.
On Thursday, Humberg/Irvine will face off against Bright/Rohrabacher, while Black/Jones will take on Smith/Kovalova.
5:05 p.m. PT: Bar/Alshon cruise past Johnson/Tardio in first match together
Dekel Bar/Christian Alshon took down JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio 11-1, 11-7 to improve to 1-0 in the ATP Pool in men's doubles.
This event marks Bar and Alshon’s first tournament together, which is something that Alshon says could actually be an advantage this week in San Clemente.
"I feel like what we really had going for us is that we had never played together, so that's kind of a wild card in the sense that our opponents don't know our style or what we're gonna do," he explained. "I think that gave us a huge advantage."
Bar/Alshon will look to build on this strong opening performance when they face Ben and Collin Johns on Thursday.
4:30 p.m. PT: Todd/Pisnik overcome Game 1 collapse, beat Schneemann/Johnson in 3
Parris Todd and Tina Pisnik started off their partnership with a 10-12, 11-7, 11-6 victory over Jorja Johnson/Lacy Schneemann.
The triumph didn't come without its challenges, however.
In the first game, Todd/Pisnik watched as a 9-3 advantage quickly disappeared as Johnson/Schneemann came back to take it 12-10.
Not deterred by their Game 1 debacle, Todd/Pisnik comfortably took the second and jumped out a 10-0 lead in the decider.
Despite the threat of another comeback from their opponents, they eventually closed out the final game by an 11-6 score line to join Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau as the ATP Pool’s Wednesday victors.
Todd/Pisnik will look to improve to 2-0 when they face Mary Brascia/Meghan Dizon on Thursday.
3:30 p.m. PT: Daescu, McGuffin outduel Frazier, Tellez in Erne Pool battle
Andrei Daescu/Tyson McGuffin haven't played a tournament together in over a year, but they didn't let that stop them from starting off their Southern California campaign with a win.
They beat the first-time pairing of Dylan Frazier/Pablo Tellez 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, eventually pulling away in the third game thanks in large part to Daescu's expert use of his six-foot-four-inch frame on the left side.
They will look to go 2-0 in the Erne Pool when they face Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin on Thursday.
2:45 p.m. PT: Parenteau and Alshon, Johnson siblings cruise in opening contests
The pairings of Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon and Jorja/JW Johnson started off pool play with two-game victories.
Parenteau/Alshon—who have two silver medals together this year—won an ATP Pool showdown against Rachel Rohrabacher/Federico Staksrud by an 11-3, 11-1 score line.
The Johnson siblings also started victoriously in the Erne Pool with an 11-3, 11-6 win over Tina Pisnik/Dekel Bar.
2:10 p.m. PT: Bright, Tardio down Irvine, Newman in Erne Pool contest
The second-seeded tandem of Anna Bright and Gabe Tardio beat seventh-seeded Jessie Irvine and Riley Newman by a score of 11-1, 11-7.
2:00 p.m. PT: ATP Pool favorites Waters, Johns win mixed doubles opener
The top-seeded tandem of Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns defeated sixth-seeded Meghan Dizon and James Ignatowich with relative ease, 11-5, 11-7.
"I feel like playing with Ben is so cool because I feel like every match we have a new strategy, or we're hitting different shots. I never know what he's going to do and I don't think he really knows what I'm going to do," said Waters. "We kind of keep things interesting, even though we've been playing together for so many years now. I don't think we've ever had one match that's been the same."
Waters and Johns are the defending mixed doubles gold medalists at the CIBC PPA Tour Finals.
1:30 p.m. PT: Johnson bests Martinez Vich in straight games
No. 4 Hunter Johnson earned an ATP Pool singles victory to begin his day.
Johnson downed No. 8 Jaume Martinez Vich by a score of 11-4, 11-7.
1:15 p.m. PT: Staksrud makes easy work of Frazier in ATP Pool triumph
No. 1 Federico Staksrud defeated No. 6 Dylan Frazier 11-5, 11-7 in just under 22 minutes.
As expected, the Argentinian didn't give his opponent much to work with.
Staksrud claimed bronze in singles at the CIBC PPA Tour Finals last year.
1:00 p.m. PT: Brascia upsets Johnson in Erne Pool match
No. 7 Mary Brascia defeated No. 2 Jorja Johnson 11-1, 11-9 on Grandstand Court.
Brascia had six game points in the second stanza before finally sealing the deal and earning the win.
Johnson replaced Brooke Buckner in the event due to injury.
12:30 p.m. PT: Christian defeats Parenteau in Erne Pool battle
No. 5 Kaitlyn Christian beat No. 3 Catherine Parenteau 8-11, 12-10, 11-8 in a back-and-forth affair.
After dropping the opening game, Christian eventually found a way to get the job done.
"Catherine played a good match. She's a very tough competitor, so I needed to be on my game throughout the entire match," said Christian. "I was happy to pull that one out. I just tried to stay composed and as positivie as I could the entire, and I'm really happy with the win there."
12:20 p.m. PT: Duong delivers in final stanza, beats Garnett
No. 5 Quang Duong opened Erne Pool play with an 11-9, 5-11, 11-9 victory over No. 3 Connor Garnett.
Garnett led 9-4 in the third and deciding game, before Duong stormed back with seven consecutive points en route to the impressive triumph on Grandstand Court.
Kudos to Duong for the remarkable resiliency.
11:20 a.m. PT: McGuffin downs Johns in hard-fought matchup
No. 7 Tyson McGuffin upset No. 2 Ben Johns by a score of 13-11, 11-9 to set the tone early in the men's singles Erne Pool.
It took 45 minutes for McGuffin to get the job done on Humana Championship Court.
"It means a lot. Me being 34 and just knowing that I can still compete at this level in singles in my 30s, I'm just grateful to be doing it," said McGuffin. "I hadn't beat Benny for like two years now. It's definitely nice to get over the hump."
Johns is the defending men's singles gold medalist at the CIBC PPA Tour Finals.
11:15 a.m. PT: Todd rallies past Fahey in three-game battle
No. 8 Parris Todd dropped the opening game to No. 4 Kate Fahey, but wouldn't be denied.
She battled back to secure a 6-11, 11-7, 11-6 victory and claim her opening singles match in the ATP Pool.
It was a disappointing result for Fahey, of course, after starting the match firing on all cylinders.
10:25 a.m. PT: Waters cruises past Schneemann in straight games
World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters dominated No. 6 Lacy Schneemann 11-2, 11-0 in the opening match of women's singles play in the ATP Pool.
Schneemann replaced Salome Devidze in the event due to injury.
Entering San Clemente, Waters has collected at least one medal of any kind in 56 consecutive tournaments.
She is the defending women's singles gold medalist at the CIBC PPA Tour Finals.
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