The St. Louis Shock (2-0) handed the New Jersey 5s (5-1) their first loss of 2025 with a 3-1 victory in a contest that had more drama off the court than on it.

In the weekend’s final match at the USTA National Campus, the Shock struck first.

Anna Bright/Kate Fahey handed Anna Leigh Waters/Meghan Dizon their second loss of the day in women’s doubles before Hayden Patriquin/Gabe Tardio dispatched Will Howells/Zane Navratil to give St. Louis a commanding 2-0 lead going into mixed doubles.

Waters/Howells got New Jersey on the board with an 11-3 victory over Fahey/Patriquin, and that’s when the drama started.

While walking to the bench after a rushed paddle tap, Patriquin said something that caused Waters to immediately confront him, even as members of the Shock organization tried to block her.

Multiple sources on site, including the 5s' own Zane Navratil via Twitter/X, said that Patriquin called Waters a "f**ing b**ch.” The moment led members of both organizations, as well as MLP officials, to get involved as tensions reached a fever pitch.

See below for an exclusive look at what transpired:

The action only continued to heat up from there.

In the second mixed doubles match, Navratil took a full windup and beaned Tardio off the bounce at full speed, much to the enjoyment of New Jersey’s bench.

The move certainly sent a message, but it didn’t help the 5s’ cause; Bright/Tardio comfortably beat Navratil/Dizon to secure a regulation victory in a highly anticipated match between two of the top teams at the Premier level.

Patriquin addressed his encounter with Waters in a post-match interview.

“Some words were said—some words that shouldn’t have been said. It is what it is. It’s just the heat of the moment,” he mentioned. “I’m sorry, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

This result gives St. Louis their second win of the day after beating the Brooklyn Pickleball Team earlier Sunday afternoon.

Both matchups carried extra weight on account of Bright and Waters’ collective decision to partner up on the PPA Tour for the rest of 2025 and leave their respective partners, Rachel Rohrabacher and Catherine Parenteau.

Bright faced both her old partner in Rohrabacher and her new partner in Waters, coming away with wins both times.

“All of the nerves and anxiety and excitement kind of hit me all at once,” Bright said. “I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night, and there were definitely some matches for me today with a lot of storylines. You just have to kind of keep things in perspective and think about the bigger picture because it’s only the start of the season.”

St. Louis will look to build on its 2-0 start in the Sunshine State next week at MLP Columbus, while New Jersey will return to the court at MLP Austin, scheduled for May 23-26.

We don’t yet know when these teams will square off again, but one thing’s for sure: there will be more than just standings points on the line when they do.