The #1 seeds were toppled in four of the five events in Las Vegas, with the biggest surprise being Ben Johns losing in his three gold medal matches. There were upsets galore in earlier rounds too, as new and young players continue to make their mark on the PPA Tour.

 

 

Social media this week had plenty of pictures of Hayden Patriquin celebrating his 21st birthday in Las Vegas. He also celebrated on the court, as he and partner Anna Bright took down the formidable duo of Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns in the final, 11-9, 11-7. It was no easy road for Bright and Patriquin, as they were taken to three games in three straight matches leading up to the final. It is always a battle when Bright and Patriquin takes on Waters and Johns, and the Las Vegas final was no exception. But the birthday boy had it go his way this time. A nice birthday present, indeed.

 

 

 

The women’s game has been waiting for someone to come along to potentially challenge Anna Leigh Waters in all three events. In Las Vegas, Kiora Kunimoto sent a message that she may just be that person one day. Kunimoto has been steadily progressing in singles, mixed doubles, and women’s doubles. This week, she made her first final, taking down top seed Kate Fahey on her way to the gold medal match. In the final, Kunimoto gave Kaitlyn Christian all she could handle, with Christian finally prevailing 11-8, 2-11, 11-4. Kunimoto also made the quarterfinals in women’s doubles as a #12 seed, falling to the #3 seed Lacy Schneemann and Kate Fahey 11-9 in the third game.

 

 

Kunimoto and mixed doubles partner Elliott Schupp have shown a lot of talent and are moving up the seeding chart with better results. Kunimoto is thus showing she can play at a high level in singles, and in doubles from either the right or left side.

 

Catching up to Anna Leigh Waters is a tough task for anyone. But, Kunimoto has shown the potential to possibly get there one day. It will be fun to watch her progress.

 

 

Nico Acevedo made his first gold medal final in Mesa. This past week in Las Vegas, Acevedo followed it up with a semifinal appearance as a #10 seed with Jaume Martinez Vich, and a quarterfinal appearance in mixed doubles as a #16 seed with Isabella Dunlap. His tournament included upsets of #5 Len Yang and Dylan Frazier in men’s doubles, and of #7 Eric Oncins and Catherine Parenteau in mixed doubles.

 

Acevedo has the look of a top 10 talent, and now he is getting the results of a top 10 player. The fastest rising star on the women’s side is Kunimoto, and on the men’s side it is Acevedo. How high can they climb?

 

 

 

Men’s singles is the event with the most upsets, and in Las Vegas it was more of the same. The top seed was Chris Haworth, and he almost lost in the Round of 32. Anouar Braham had game points in the first game, but Haworth was able to prevail 14-12, 11-9. That got Haworth to the Round of 16, where he fell to #14 Luc Pham.

 

Ben Johns was seeded #19. He defeated #11 Dylan Frazier, #4 Christian Alshon, and #8 John Lucian Goins on his way to the final. In the final, #3 Hunter Johnson easily defeated Johns 11-1, 11-3.

 

 

In addition to the unpredictability of men’s doubles, we are seeing a big change in how the game is played. Just two years ago, men’s singles was all about coming to the kitchen line and volleying your way to victory. In Las Vegas, we saw that style played, but we also saw the “new style” where players stay at the baseline much more. Johns himself played both styles, depending on opponent. 

 

We will look more closely at the changing men’s singles game in a future column devoted to that topic.

 

Next up is the Veolia Chicago Cup beginning Monday. Catch all the action on Pickleballtv.

 

Follow me on X for updates @pickleball_jim.