Possibly the biggest news of the season rocked the picklesphere this week. 

Ben and Collin Johns, the most dominant partnership in pickleball, have agreed to split up after 4 years of play together. The pair hold 33 total titles and 43 medals as a team and have held the #1 men’s doubles team for the majority of their time together on tour. Johns and Johns logged an astounding 74% podium percentage and a 56% title percentage over the course of playing together.

Despite their incredible success over the years and notwithstanding the fact that they finished as the number one team this year, the Johns brothers are looking to shake things up and find chemistry with new partners moving forward. It was a mutual and amicable split that took place within the Johns family unit before being revealed to the public. 

Rumor has it, Ben’s partnerships in 2025 may include Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patriquin, Dylan Frazier, or others – many of whom are already committed to other partners, which is a complication. 

“We’ve achieved so much as a team together, and I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished," Ben said, when asked about the split. "Change-ups in life and in sports can be a refreshing thing. We feel like this decision will help us find new purpose, create variety, and reengage us in the sport we love so much. This is not necessarily the end of our partnership for good, just a healthy adjustment for the time being. We’ll always be brothers first and part of each other’s pickleball legacy. We’re excited to see what 2025 holds for both of us.” 

Collin will probably look to pair with old favorites like Jay Devilliers, Andrei Daescu, or Dekel Bar, or potentially match with a new face such as Jack Sock, Jaume Martinez Vich, or Noe Khlif.

It’s no secret that both brothers have been showing a lot of frustration, less communication, and some negative body language on the court in 2024. The competition has been heating up and the old style of play isn’t as effective anymore. To combat this, Johns and Johns have put in work to adapt as a team – most noticeably during the CIBC Atlanta Slam where Ben rolled his ankle, forcing Collin to cover more of the court and show off an entirely different style of play. The two actually managed to take the title together on that occasion 11-4, 11-0, 6-11, 11-4 against Tyson McGuffin and Martinez Vich. However, over the second half of 2024, it became clear that the two were working harder and harder to get the same results and often falling short.

Looking ahead to 2025, the brothers have a few decisions to make, including whether they will still play the Masters together, which is the only tournament they are still currently signed up to play together in. They also need to decide where their home base will be moving forward, since they will undoubtedly want to practice and drill with their new partners in 2025.

As we wait for more details to be released on all this, we take a look back on some of the stats from Ben and Collin’s partnership over the years:

Men's Doubles, career gold medals:
43 Ben Johns
33 Collin Johns
18 Matt Wright
14 Riley Newman
10 Dylan Frazier
10 JW Johnson
(no others in double figures)

Men's Doubles teams, career gold medals:
33 Johns brothers
10 Frazier/Johnson
8  Newman/Wright
8  Ben Johns/Wright
3  Newman/McGuffin
3  Patriquin/Staksrud.

Ben and Collin together, yearly:
2024: 7 golds (tour-leading), 2 silvers, 0 bronze, 20 tournaments.
2023: 12 golds (tour-leading), 1 silver, 0 bronze, 16 tournaments.
2022: 10 golds (tour-leading), 4 silvers, 0 bronze 15 tournaments.
2021: 4 golds (tied tour-lead, w/Ben/Wright), 1 silver, 2 bronze, 7 tournaments.

Total:
33 golds, 8 silvers, 2 bronze, (43 medals) 58 tournaments.
74% Podium Percentage.
56% Gold Percentage.