Following up on an exciting end to the 2025 MLP season, the pro pickleball world moves from the Big Apple to the Vegas Strip. The PPA Tour’s latest stop will be at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the Walgreens Open. All the big names and best players will be in attendance. Let’s look at the big questions that need to be answered this week in Vegas.

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright take center stage in women’s doubles, with the big question being whether anyone can beat them? The way they have dominated so far with their partnership, maybe the question should be whether anyone can even make them break a sweat. Waters and Bright have been dominant and have not lost a single game. Indeed, it is rare when their opponents can even get five points in a game.

 

But, this week in Las Vegas we may well see their toughest test yet. The #3 seed is Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black. While I predicted when the Waters/Bright partnership was announced that no one would beat them in 2025, I also said the pair with the best chance was Johnson/Black. With both Waters/Bright and Johnson/Black in the top half of the draw, these two pairs may well meet in the semifinals. Neither team has a particularly difficult draw, so I do expect them to face each other in the semifinal. If that does occur, it will be a must see match for any pickleball fan.

 

The second seed goes to Catherine Parenteau and Parris Todd. They have the more difficult side of the draw and will likely be tested as early as the quarterfinals by the #8 seed, Viv David and Callie Smith. Also in the bottom half are #4 Etta Tuionetoa/Lacy Schneemann and #5 Lea Jansen/Meghan Dizon. Tuionetoa and Schneemann are a bit mismatched as both tend to be better on the left. Jansen and Dizon both played well in the MLP playoffs, although again both are better on the right. They may meet in the quarterfinals and we will see which pair can best adjust strategically. For a longer shot seed, watch for #10 Zoey Wang/Brooke Buckner. They have a lot of experience playing with each other and have a favorable draw.

 

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters sits out singles in Las Vegas. Whenever she does, it makes for a wide open draw where a number of different women can snag a rare gold medal. Kate Fahey gets the top seed, but will have to get through #8 Salome Devdize and #4 Lea Jansen. The second seed goes to Kaitlyn Christian, but her side of the draw includes #3 Brooke Buckner, #5 Catherine Parenteau, #6 Zoey Wang, and #9 Judit Castillo. Any of these pros are capable of winning this event, so there should be a lot of close matches.

 

 

JW Johnson is the one top player missing from Las Vegas, and this means the #2 mixed team of JW and Jorja Johnson will not be in the event to give us another five game final against top seed Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns. Instead, the #2 seed goes to Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon. Anna Bright has been playing with a lot of different mixed partners and this week she will pair with Federico Staksrud as the #3 seed. Staksrud has enjoyed a lot of success at both singles and men’s doubles, but his mixed results lag. Will he be able to find more success with Bright? They are in the top half of the draw with Waters/Johns, so earning a medal will not be easy.

 

Jorja Johnson will be playing with new partner Jonathan Truong. Truong is only 18 years old, and this will be the best chance of his young career for a deep run in a doubles event. They have a reasonable draw and will be an interesting team to follow.

 

Other pairs of note are #6 Tyra Black and Hayden Patriquin, #8 Meghan Dizon and Andrei Daescu, and #9 Parris Todd and Dekel Bar. The #13 seed is Kate Fahey and Tyson McGuffin. They have a good draw and should be a difficult team to knock out.

 

 

 

Men’s singles remains by far the most difficult event to predict. Double digit seeds commonly make deep runs or even win the event. Federico Staksrud and Hunter Johnson are the top seeds and remain the two best singles players. But they will have to run a gauntlet of excellent singles players to grab a medal. Staksrud has to contend with #11 John Lucien Goins, who won the most recent PPA gold. Johnson is in the bottom half of the draw and that side has a string of good singles players, including #6 Michael Loyd, #9 Gabe Joseph, #12 Zane Ford, and #18 Grayson Goldin. Pretty much every seed in the top 20 could win the event. Every match from the Round of 32 on will be tough. For example, #7 Jack Sock is scheduled to play #25 Max Freeman. That is just one good example of how difficult this draw will be.

 

 

Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio take the top seed and are coming off two straight gold medals. The task of trying to stop them from making it three in a row will primarily fall on #2 Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin and #3 Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon. Those two teams are on the same side of the draw and if/when they play each other in the semifinals, it will be one of the best matches of the week. 

 

Among other seeds who could shake things up, we have #8 Riley Newman/Jay Devilliers. Newman/Devilliers played very well together at Bristol, giving Johns/Tardio all they could handle in a great three-game match. A longshot worth a look is #21 AJ Koller/Yuta Funemizu. They have a reasonable draw and both have been playing well. Funemizu in particular is always fun to watch due to his unusual style.

 

 

 

I did not do too well in the prediction department for Bristol. There were a lot of upsets, and this week may have some return to the chalk.

 

Women’s doubles: Waters/Bright cruise, defeating Todd/Parenteau

Women’s singles: Some upsets with Buckner defeating Jansen in the final

Mixed doubles: Waters/Johns win easily, defeating Black/Patriquin in the final

Men’s doubles: Daescu/Alshon with the upset over Johns/Tardio

Men’s singles: Flip a coin! How about Staksrud over Joseph

 

Las Vegas is always a great spot for a PPA event and this week should be no different. The talent pool is so deep that even first and second round matches are now difficult wins. All the action will be on Pickleballtv.

 

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