It was another gorgeous day in Mesa, Arizona on Wednesday. Mid 70s, no wind, perfect conditions for pickleball. Tyler Loong, who favors all indoor courts for pro pickleball so the conditions are controlled, had to admit that outdoor pickleball is great when the conditions are like this. Thursday is supposed to be more of the same. 

 

Each of the five events have interesting storylines.

 

 

Federico Staksrud is back to using a JOOLA paddle. He was obviously more comfortable using it and it showed in his steady play, as he and Hayden Patriquin had no trouble moving into the round of 16. They look like a definite medal contender.

 

On the other hand, Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio struggled, dropping a game to #30 seed Greg Dow/Cason Campbell. Is that an indication of problems, or a one-off oddity?

 

 

 

As was true in men’s doubles, Staksrud was on cruise control. Last week’s winner in Tucson, Hunter Johnson, joined Staksrud in the round of 16. Johnson looks like a solid choice to go back-to-back. For matches on Thursday, how about #6 Quang Duong v #10 Jack Sock, or #5 Christian Alshon v #9 Dylan Frazier?

 

 

The expectation is that #1 seed Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau are on a collision course for another finals showdown against #2 Anna Bight/Rachel Rohrabacher. Nothing about their play today indicated they were likely to be the victims of an upset. But watch out for #3 seed Tyra Black/Parris Todd. If anyone can prevent the rematch, it is that team.

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters is doing her usual march through the draw. But the competition is fierce. Look at these round of 16 matches on tap for Thursday: #4 Lea Jansen v #20 Mari Humberg, #6 Kate Fahey v #12 Jorja Johnson, and #5 Parris Todd v #9 Zoey Wang.

 

 

 

Wednesday was a day for upsets in mixed doubles. In the round of 32, #22 Noe Khlif/Maggie Brescia defeated #11 Riley Newman/Lea Jansen; #23 Connor Garnett/Brooke Buckner defeated #14 Dylan Frazier/Kate Fahey; and, in the biggest upset of the day, #43 Martin Emmrich/Ewa Radzikowska defeated #10 Pablo Tellez/Etta Tuionetoa.

 

Each round gets that much tougher. The round of 16 will be awesome to see on Thursday. Expect big crowds and great weather again.

 

Follow me on X @pickleball_jim