The PPA Tour is in Virginia for the Stratusphere Gin Virginia Beach Cup. The top players will all be there and the competition will be fierce. Excellent players are featured throughout every draw, so any player winning a medal at this event will have earned it.

 

 

 

Fresh off their first gold medal in five months, Ben Johns and Collin Johns regain the top seed. They have a fairly reasonable draw, avoiding early round matches against the type of aggressive players that give them trouble. Their recent nemesis, the duo of Gabe Tardio/Andrei Daescu, are seeded #5, but are on the opposite side of the draw, where they likely face #2 seed JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier in the quarters. This event will feature several new/fairly new pairings of note. The #3 seed goes to Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin, who had great success the one prior time they played together. The #17 seed goes to the new duo of Michael Loyd/Quang Duong; anyone playing them had better be ready for some fast, super-aggressive play. Duong can hit the ball with as much pace as anyone; Loyd might be the rare player who actually hits it harder than Duong. Other interesting pairs include #4 Dekel Bar/Hunter Johnson, #7 James Ignatowich/Christian Alshon, and #9 Riley Newman/Rafa Hewett. The men’s doubles draw is, once again, very deep. For example, the Round of 32 has #12 Donald Young/Julian Arnold facing #24 Eric Roddy/Marshall Brown, in what should be a very entertaining match.

 

 

 

The top seed goes to Federico Staksrud, who once again faces a super tough road to the final. He potentially has to face #14 Gabe Tardio in the Round of 16, #7 Quang Duong in the quarters, and #3 Connor Garnett in the semis. If Staksrud gets to the finals this week, he will have earned it. The second seed goes to Ben Johns, but he faces a tough test early, with a likely Round of 16 matchup against #12 Grayson Goldin. Goldin’s relentless power style is the type that gives Johns a lot of trouble in singles. The winner of that likely match will probably face the winner of #5 Christian Alshon v #9 JW Johnson in the quarters. Watch out for #8 seed Jaume Martinez Vich. He has a reasonable draw (there are no easy draw in men’s singles) and it looks like he could make a deep run.

 

 

 

The top seed is of course Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters, and they are gifted with a fairly easy road all the way to the semis. The #2 seed goes to Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson. The new pair of Anna Bright/Andrei Daescu gets the #3 seed. Both great players, but Daescu has not had the same success in mixed as he has enjoyed in men’s doubles. Will Bright’s energy get him over the hump? Bright’s former partner, James Ignatowich, pairs this week with Meghan Dizon and they are seeded #5. Interestingly, Anna Bright/Andrei Daescu could face James Ignatowich/Meghan Dizon in the semis, if both pairs can get that far. An interesting opening round match has #19 Zane Navratil/Allyce Jones facing #27 Quang Duong/Kate Fahey; can Zane Navratil and Quang Duong translate recent MLP success to PPA success?

 

 

 

Coming off a rare loss, Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau look to rebound. They retain the #1 seed. Their conquerors from the last event, Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher, assume the #2 seed, and we could well see a rematch in the finals. Looking to spoil such a rematch are #3 seed Etta Wright/Meghan Dizon, #4 Lea Jansen/Callie Smith, and #5 Tyra Black/Allyce Jones. Watch out for #9 seed Mari Humberg/Jorja Johnson; they have a reasonable draw and could surprise. The women’s side is not as deep as the men’s side, but is getting more difficult with every event. This week, in the Round of 32, #12 seed Zoey Wang/Brooke Buckner face #18 Kaitlyn Christian/Kate Fahey, in what will be a pick ‘em match.

 

 

 

As usual, Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau are the top 2 seeds. Salome Devidze gets he #5 seed and has a reasonable path to the finals. In expected Round of 16 matchups, #3 Lea Jansen faces #14 Jorja Johnson, #8 Judit Castillo goes against #11 Kate Fahey, and #7 Parris Todd plays #9 Lacy Schneemann. Those Round of 16 matches are all must see pickleball, but can anyone take down ALW?

 

 

 

Two in a row for Ben and Collin Johns, Johns brothers over Andre Daescu/Gabe Tardio.

Upsets galore, #7 Quang Duong wins first singles gold over #12 Grayson Goldin.

Chalk rules, Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters over JW Johnson/Jorja Johnson.

Revenge! Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau over Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher.

Semi-chalk, as Anna Leigh Waters defeats Salome Devidze.

 

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Let me know who you think will win the golds in Virginia Beach.