Looking back at the biggest moments from the 2025 PPA Tour season
The 2025 PPA Tour season saw new figures establish themselves, stars continue to dominate, and professional pickleball soar to new heights.
After 18 pro events throughout eleven states, we can finally reflect on another memorable campaign.
Let’s revisit (some of) the biggest moments from 2025 on the PPA Tour.
January 12, PPA Masters: Johns bros win gold in final tournament together
One of the biggest storylines coming into 2025 was Ben Johns and Collin Johns deciding to end their time competing together.
The Masters, a tournament where the brothers had never lost, was set to be their final event as a partnership after which Ben would play with Gabe Tardio.
They went out on top, securing an 11-5, 12-10, 11-3 victory over Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin in the final.
If Ben and Collin never compete together again on the PPA Tour, they will end their careers with 35 men’s doubles titles together, a mark that is good for most all-time.
March 6, Cape Coral Open: Teenage star Goins stuns the field en route to first PPA medal
John Lucian Goins stole the show at the Cape Coral Open, coming through the qualifying rounds to eventually beat Ben Johns in the quarterfinals.
He fell to Jaume Martinez Vich in the semifinals but rebounded to beat Max Freeman in the bronze medal match to secure his first career PPA Tour medal.
That performance earned him a PPA Tour contract, and Goins has quickly established himself as one of the top singles players in the sport.
That stats became even more clear when Goins won back-to-back singles titles in Bristol and Las Vegas.
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The 17-year-old should continue to rise up the ranks in 2026.
March 28, Columbia Challenger: PPA Challenger series holds first event
The Columbia PPA Challenger was the first event held by the PPA Tour Challenger Series, which gives aspiring pros a chance to earn PPA Tour points while competing against other rising talents.
The Challenger Series hosted 12 events in 2025 and has proven to be an effective conduit for players going on to have success on the PPA Tour.
Three Challenger Series champions went on to make semifinal runs at PPA Tour events in 2025: Luca Mack, Rafael Lenhard, and Isabella Dunlap.
More should be on the way in 2026.
April 7: Waters ends partnership with Parenteau and joins forces with Anna Bright
One day after she and Catherine Parenteau fell to Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black in the final of the North Carolina Open, Anna Leigh Waters ended her partnership with Parenteau, a partnership that had won 31 out of the 35 tournaments entered.
The news sent shockwaves through the pickleball landscape and brought an abrupt end to one of the most dominant duos the sport had ever seen.
Waters instead reignited her partnership with Anna Bright, a move that ended another well-known partnership known as ‘The Girlies.’
Bright had been playing with Rachel Rohrabacher since 2024, and the two had adopted the nickname while establishing themselves as a fitting Championship Sunday rival for Waters and Parenteau.
Waters and Bright went undefeated in seven tournaments together in 2023, and they picked up right where they left off in 2025.
They took gold in seven of the nine tournaments they played this season and will be looking to continue their dominance in 2026.
Parenteau and Rohrabacher, to their credit, took silver in both tournaments they played together in 2024 and are set to be a full-time partnership in 2026.
May 18, Atlanta Championships: Ben Johns emotional after winning Atlanta singles title
After a 3-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory over Connor Garnett in the men’s singles final in Atlanta, Ben Johns fell to the court in triumph in one of the most emotional moments we have seen from the 26-year-old’s storied career.
It was the third match of the day for Johns, who won gold in mixed doubles before losing in men’s doubles.
The physical exhaustion—and emotional exhaustion from coming back from being down a game and 1-5—was fully evident as Johns secured what would be his final singles title of 2025 and gave fans a rare moment of on-court emotion from the superstar.
September 14, Cincinnati Showcase: Kawamoto sisters win first title together with huge comeback
Jackie Kawamoto/Jade Kawamoto won their first career PPA titles together with a massively impressive run.
In the semifinals, the sisters handed the pairing of Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright just their second loss as a partnership.
Then, in the gold medal match, they outdueled Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black in a five-game epic after dropping the first two games.
The moment was made even more special by the fact that both sisters played collegiate tennis just an hour north of Cincinnati at the University of Dayton.
November 9, Worlds: Staksrud, Patriquin get over the hump, win first title of 2025
Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin captured their first and only title of 2025 with a four-game victory over JW Johnson/CJ Klinger.
The tandem had fallen short on their four previous gold medal chances in 2025, but they triumphed at the biggest tournament of the year in Dallas.
One of the best parts of the run was Staksrud’s emotional moment in a post-match interview after he and Patriquin knocked out top seeds Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio in the semifinals.
It was a real, raw moment from one of the sport’s best that everyone can appreciate.
November 9, Worlds: Waters passes Johns for most PPA Tour titles all-time
With her Triple Crown at Worlds, Anna Leigh Waters secured her 168th career PPA Tour title and passed Ben Johns for most all-time.
Since then, she has built on her lead and now has 172 to Johns’ 169.
The 18-year-old will look to continue setting records in 2026.
Honorable Mentions: First-time Gold Medalists
- Christian Alshon: First men’s singles title (Cape Coral Open)
- Tyra Black: First women’s doubles title (Texas Open with Parris Todd)
- Parris Todd: First mixed doubles title (Red Rock Open with Dekel Bar)
- Dekel Bar: First mixed doubles title (Red Rock Open with Parris Todd)
- Jorja Johnson: First women’s doubles title (North Carolina Open with Tyra Black)
- Gabe Tardio: First men’s singles title (North Carolina Open)
- John Lucian Goins; First men’s singles title (Bristol Open)
- Jackie Kawamoto: First women’s doubles title (Cincinnati Showcase with Jade Kawamoto)
- Jade Kawamoto: First women’s doubles title (Cincinnati Showcase with Jackie Kawamoto)
- Lacy Schneemann: First women’s doubles title (Sacramento Open with Etta Tuionetoa)
- Roscoe Bellamy: First men’s singles title (Lakeland Open)
- Augie Ge: First men’s doubles title (Daytona Beach Open with JW Johnson)
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