![Federico Staksrud and Rachel Rohrabacher were winners together on Thursday.](https://cdn.pickleball.com/news/1705016731898/Federico_Rachel_Masters.jpg?width=1320&height=528&optimizer=image)
Staksrud, Rohrabacher making a splash in first tournament together
PALM SPRINGS, CA - Playing with a new partner is never easy, but Federico Staksrud and Rachel Rohrabacher are putting on a clinic on how to do that successfully at the PPA Masters.
The duo came into Palm Springs as the No. 18 seed and have reeled off four wins together in three days to make the quarterfinals.
They captured their most impressive win thus far Thursday afternoon, downing the No. 3 seeded team of JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson 11-9, 12-10.
They were up 10-3 in the second game before the Johnsons made a run to tie it up at 10, but the tandem of former collegiate tennis players was able to pull it out by relying on an aggressive style of play in the big moments.
“We really focus in on every point, which I think is super important,” Staksrud said. “We both like to be aggressive with big serves, which suits us well.”
Staksrud and Rohrabacher will face another new pairing in Tyson McGuffin and Meghan Dizon in the quarterfinals on Friday.
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