OVERALL TOP 5: 

- HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Carvana PPA Tour now follows a September to May format, like the NHL/NBA.

- WORLDLY AFFAIR: New World Pickleball Rankings are 3 dimensional and combine all disciplines: 50% gender doubles, 35% mixed, 15% singles. 

- NO “I” IN TEAM: How will the MLP winners and those that came up just short fare with a quick turnaround?

- ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE: Who will hoist the trophy like the NHL’s Canes? Pro-am Thursday night!

- MAJOR IMPLICATIONS: Starting the year with one of 4 majors, worth 2,000 points.

 

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VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

- First event of the 26/27 season with over 1,400 players participating. 

- A progressive draw on the pro side, one round per bracket per day and no bronze matches. 

- Coverage on Pickleballtv begins at 10am EST Tuesday through Friday & Sunday. 9am start Saturday, with coverage on Tennis Channel Thursday through Sunday in the afternoons (non-exclusive).

 

 

 

 

 

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WOMEN'S SINGLES:

- Top 4 seeds: 1) Anna Leigh Waters, 2) Kate Fahey, 3) Kaitlyn Christian, 4) Brooke Buckner 

- Anna Leigh Waters’ unbeaten streak has reached 824 days at the start of the main draws in NC. 

- Potential battle in R16: Buckner (4) vs. Cailyn Campbell (13) 

- WATCH OUT FOR: Sofia Sewing (46) - very talented player will move up the rankings quickly but must start in the 40s and will be a tough out in Cary. 

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MEN'S SINGLES:

- Top 4 seeds: 1) Chris Haworth 2) Federico Staksrud 3) Hunter Johnson 4) Christian Alshon

- Haworth is #1 in the world and hoping to pick up where he left off from his win at the PPA Final. But, he has not had a good DreamBreaker season in MLP (just 3 points over .500). 

- Ben Johns is playing singles as the 24 seed. Tyson McGuffin is playing singles as the 39 seed. And they play against each other in the round of 64. Theater. 

- Another R64 thriller: JW Johnson (28) vs. Max Freeman (33)

- WATCH OUT FOR: Grayson Goldin (26) - battles a stroke, perseveres, and just won the PPA Asia event in China. 

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MIXED DOUBLES:

- Top 4 seeds: 1)Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, 2)Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin, 3)JW/Jorja Johnson, 4)Rachel Rohrabacher/Christian Alshon

- Ben Johns is the only player in the top 4 seeds not playing in the MLP semifinals. 

- Eric Oncins and Tina Pisnik are paired as the 7 seed (made the Newport Final earlier in the year). 

- R64 barnburner: Catherine Parenteau/Riley Newman (10) vs. Sofia Sewing/Casey Diamond (64)

- WATCH OUT FOR: Hurricane Tyra Black and Gabe Tardio (5) - dangerous, talented duo will be tough to beat. Haven’t played together in the US in over 2 years. Finished 3rd in Hanoi in April. 

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WOMEN'S DOUBLES:

- Top 4 seeds: 1)Bright/Waters, 2)Black/Johnson, 3) Rohrabacher/Todd, 4)Schneemann/Pisnik

- Waters and Bright are undefeated in 2026. 

- New, dangerous team as the 5 seed: Sofia Sewing and Catherine Parenteau

- Potential R16: Etta Tuionetoa/Meghan Dizon (7) vs. Kaitlyn Christian/Brooke Buckner (9)

- WATCH OUT FOR: Kate Fahey and Lea Jansen (6) - can they make a run to the semis or farther?

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MEN'S DOUBLES:

- Top 4 seeds: 1)Johns/Tardio, 2)Alshon/Daescu, 3)Patriquin/Staksrud, 4) JW Johnson/Shimabukuro

- Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio are undefeated in 2026. 

- What’s old is new again: Partriquin/Staksrud (3) and Alshon/Daescu (2) pair up again and both seek their gold medal winning ways of 2025. 

- Potential R16: Will Howells/CJ Klinger (5) vs. Roscoe Bellamy/Connor Garnett (9)

- WATCH OUT FOR: Tama Shimabukuro and JW Johnson (4) - what results will Tama Time plus the Flickwizard produce - a fascinating new pairing that will be must see TV.