Championship Sunday at the Veolia Arizona Open brought a new dynamic to the title bouts, as all matches were best two-out-of-three games as opposed to three-out-of-five-games, as they had been in the past.

Fans were treated to some incredible pickleball and tight matches, as three of the day’s five gold medal matches went to a deciding game.

Here’s what you missed from each match.

MEN’S DOUBLES: Alshon, Daescu win instant classic over Acevedo, Funemizu

The day began with No. 2 seeds Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu outlasting No. 15 seeds Nico Acevedo/Yuta Funemizu 11-7, 7-11, 15-13 in a 91-minute epic.

Both teams were pushed to three games in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, so it’s only fitting that they went to a decider on Sunday as well.

Acevedo/Funemizu—who beat both the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds en route to their first PPA Tour final on U.S. soil—had seven championship point opportunities, but Alshon/Daescu somehow held strong to pull of the thrilling comeback win.

This is the fourth overall title for Alshon/Daescu, and their second in Mesa.

WOMEN’S DOUBLES: Todd, Rohrabacher rebound for three-game win

Parris Todd/Rachel Rohrabacher defeated the first-time partnership of Hurricane Tyra Black/Meghan Dizon in a battle of the top two seeds in the women’s doubles draw.

Todd/Rohrabacher absolutely dominated the first hour of the contest and had championship point at 11-4, 10-2, but Black/Dizon pulled off a furious comeback to steal Game 2 and force a decider.

Despite the disappointment of losing their lead, the top seeds rebounded and took Game 3 11-6 to earn their second title together and fifth overall medal as a partnership.

MIXED DOUBLES: Waters, Johns break ‘Mesa Curse’

Just 18 minutes after clinching the women’s doubles title, Rachel Rohrabacher returned to Humana Championship Court and teamed up with Christian Alshon to take on top seeds Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns for the mixed doubles crown.

Waters/Johns had not won mixed gold in Mesa since 2024 after falling to Anna Bright/Dekel Bar in 2025 and Bright/Hayden Patriquin back in February, but they returned to the top of the podium on Sunday with an 11-3, 11-6 victory.

This win gives Johns his 80^th career mixed doubles title on the PPA Tour and extends his streak of 58 consecutive PPA tournaments earning at least one gold medal.

MEN’S SINGLES: Haworth goes back-to-back in Mesa, outlasts Staksrud in three games

Chris Haworth defended his Mesa singles title from February with another gold medal-winning performance on Sunday, defeating No. 2 seed Federico Staksrud 10-12, 11-9, 11-6 in a supremely high-quality affair that lasted over an hour.

Haworth appeared to be in trouble after getting down 3-6 in the deciding game, but he overcame the deficit—and getting defecated on by a bird—to score the match’s final eight points and secure his ninth career PPA Tour title.

WOMEN’S SINGLES: Waters doubles up, takes down Fahey for women’s singles gold

Anna Leigh Waters closed out the day’s action with an 11-9, 11-4 victory over No. 2 seed Kate Fahey in the women’s singles final.

Fahey kept the first game close and found success dictating with her forehand, but a missed return off of a lob serve from Waters on game point closed out a highly entertaining opening contest.

From there, Waters comfortably took the second game to secure her second title of the day in Arizona.

The PPA Tour returns next week with the Rate Las Vegas Open, which will run from Sept. 28-Oct. 4 at Darling Tennis Center.