PALM SPRINGS, CA - Round of 16 Day at the PPA Masters meant that the top seeds in each event would finally play their first matches.

In the mixed doubles and gender doubles brackets, some of these top teams featured players taking the court together for the first time.

Let’s see how everyone did.

Tyson McGuffin and Dekel Bar

This isn’t the first time that McGuffin and Bar have played doubles together, but this is their first event since confirming they would be partners for 2024.

The No. 6 seeds were pushed in their first match of the year, dropping their first game to the lefty-righty combo of Augustus Ge and Craig Johnson.

They got into their rhythm from there, though, taking the next two games to escape with an 8-11, 11-6, 11-2 victory.

As the pair got more comfortable, McGuffin’s dinks from the right side set Bar up for several Ernes on the left side.

The duo’s next chance to showcase this pattern will be against No. 1 seeds Ben and Collin Johns in the quarterfinals.

Jay Devilliers and Pat Smith

Thursday marked the first match that Devilliers and Smith have played together since 2021. They’ve enjoyed success before, capturing a combined 10 medals across the PPA and APP tours.

In their first match back, they took down No. 10 seeds Connor Garnett and Rafa Hewett in two highly competitive games, 12-10, 11-7.

Next up for this fan-favorite duo is a match against No. 2 seeds JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier.

Christian Alshon and Julian Arnold

The No. 7 seeds faced a tough test from the drive-and-crash duo of Michael Loyd and Patrick Kawka in the Round of 16.

They dropped the first game, but then settled more into their roles with Arnold being the aggressor from the left side and Alshon standing strong on the right.

The heavy drives from their opponents made it difficult for the first-time pairing to unwind the stack at times on the return, but they were able to rally for a 10-12, 11-6, 12-10 victory.

This win sets them up to face No. 4 seeds Riley Newman and Thomas Wilson in the quarterfinals.

Jack Sock and Collin Shick

This first-time pairing showed lots of potential in both of their matches in Palm Springs, with Sock looking more and more comfortable on the left side.

They were outclassed by Newman and Wilson in the Round of 16, but it was still a positive debut for the No. 30 seeds despite their 8-11, 1-11 loss to end their run in men’s doubles.

Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher

Despite this being their first PPA event together, this No. 3 seeded team are definitely familiar with each other from having played women’s doubles on the Orlando Squeeze in Major League Pickleball.

They decided to give it a go in a traditional tournament format to start off 2024 and came out firing against No. 13 seeds Judit Castillo and Ewa Radzikowska.

Rohrabacher is also having success with her new mixed doubles partner, Federico Staksrud.

The team’s 11-1, 11-2 victory sets up a quarterfinal matchup against No. 6 seeds Lauren Stratman and Allyce Jones.

Riley Newman and Jackie Kawamoto

Even though Newman and Kawamoto both competed on the DC Pickleball Team throughout the second half of 2023, they didn’t take the court together as a tandem in MLP matches.

However, they were familiar enough with each other’s game to team up for the first event of 2024.

Coming in as the No. 5 seeds, they captured a convincing 11-9, 11-8 victory over the student-coach pairing of Christian Alshon and Leigh Waters.

Newman sees potential for him and Kawamoto to do some real damage as they play together more.

“I feel like Jackie’s an ideal partner for me,” he shared. “She’s a rock on the right that gets a lot of defensive shots back and then let’s me do my thing where I can be aggressive at the net.”

Tyson McGuffin and Meghan Dizon

The No. 6 seeds had a tough task of beating the talented duo of Hayden Patriquin and Maggie Brascia in their first match together, but they were able to get it down in three games: 11-9, 2-11, 11-6.

Both players used paddles from their new sponsors—McGuffin debuting his ‘Magnus’ paddle from JOOLA and Dizon playing with Proton.

This tandem will play another new pairing in Federico Staksrud and Rachel Rohrabacher in the quarterfinals.

Lea Jansen and Andrei Daescu

This was an intriguing pairing, with Daescu coming off an immensely successful 2023 campaign in mixed doubles on the APP Tour playing alongside Susannah Barr.

They had a tall task of playing the No. 2 seeds James Ignatowich and Anna Bright and took the first game, but they eventually fell in three games to the National runners-up.

This team certainly showed a lot of potential in Palm Springs and could be a dangerous duo if they continue to play together throughout 2024.

Catherine Parenteau and Jack Sock

To round out our list, Parenteau and Sock took on No. 12 seeds Lacy Schneemann and Travis Rettenmaier in the Round of 16.

The match started off hot with Rettenmaier’s ‘Nasty Nelson’ attempt on Sock on his first serve, but the No. 8 seeds showed why they are already considered to be one of the most dangerous teams on tour with a dominant 11-1, 11-5 victory.

This win sets up a tantalizing matchup against Bright and Ignatowich in the quarters.