PPA Mesa finished up, with gold medals going to top players such as Anna Leigh Waters, Christian Alshon, Ben Johns, and Rachel Rohrabacher. But, the bigger story were the great performances from new, up-and-coming players, many of whom are still teenagers. If Mesa is any yardstick, the future of pickleball is in good hands.

 

 

With Gabe Tardio dominating in Asia this month, the men’s doubles field felt more open than usual and it sure turned out that way. Ben Johns teamed up with Federico Staksrud in what seemed like a great pairing. But #15 seed Nico Acevedo and Yuta Funemizu had other ideas. In the Round of 16, Acevedo and Funemizu not only defeated Johns/Staksrud, they did so easily, winning 11-4, 11-5. Acevedo was a breakout star of MLP 2026, and Mesa was by far his best showing ever in a PPA event. Funemizu, formerly the #1 ranked soft tennis player in the world, showed again that he is a top level right side player in men’s doubles.

 

Acevedo and Funemizu were not done after their big Round of 16 win. They also won 12-10 game three thrillers in the quarterfinals and semifinals, setting up the gold medal match against top seed Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu. Alshon and Daescu won game one comfortably, 11-7, and the crowd likely thought the Cinderella run was over. But, Acevedo and Funemizu disagreed, winning game two 11-7, and took the lead in game three. Ultimately, Acevedo and Funemizu had seven match points, yes seven, but could not convert. Alshon and Daescu took advantage of their one and only match point, converting to win game three, 15-13. The match lasted nearly two hours and gave the crowd everything they could possibly want from a gold medal final.

 

Acevedo and Funemizu had to be disappointed in not being able to convert any of their seven match points. But, it was a great tournament for them and they will be back.

 

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters sat out women’s doubles in Mesa, so no triple crown was available. But, she did her thing in singles and mixed doubles. In singles, Waters lost only nine points in three matches leading up to the final. Against Kate Fahey in the gold medal match, Waters was finally pushed, but prevailed 11-9, 11-4. The final against Fahey went like so many Waters/Fahey matches go, with Fahey getting a lead but not able to close. Waters is just so good in the key points.

 

In mixed doubles, Waters and Johns were taken to three games by Kate Fahey and Federico Staksrud in the semifinals, but easily won the gold medal match, 11-3, 11-6, over Rachel Rohrabacher and Christian Alshon. The semifinal match was a good indication that Fahey’s progress in doubles as shown in the 2026 MLP season is a real thing. Watch for her to challenge for a spot as a top five doubles player, in addition to her clear standing as the #2 singles player.

 

 

 

While the veterans did win the golds, the kids were thrilling the fans in the early rounds of Mesa. The PPA Tour has been signing a lot of young players, many still teenagers, and the wisdom of that move was proven in Mesa, as new and young players had noteworthy performances all over the draws.

 

In mixed doubles, Kiora Kunimoto (age 18) and Elliott Schupp (19) made the mixed doubles quarterfinals. They won three matches, defeating such talented teams as Etta Tuionetoa/Will Howells, Kaitlyn Christian/Connor Garnett, and Meghan Dizon/John Lucian Goins, before going down with a fight to Waters/Johns. Kunimoto is fairly well known due to her prior success in women’s singles; that success continued in Mesa, where she made the quarterfinals, losing to Waters. For Schupp, he is somewhat lesser known, but no less talented. He is relatively new to PPA events, but he is going to be heard from going forward. As a lefty, he is already being talked about as someone with the talent to become known as the best lefty in the game. Kunimoto and Schupp will be a mixed team no one wants to play, and Schupp is going to draw attention from top men in the game as a future partner in men’s doubles.

 

 

The next teenager who made an impact in Mesa is Jalina Ingram (19), who had a great run to the semifinals in women’s singles. Along the way, she defeated #3 seed Kaitlyn Christian and #7 seed Catherine Parenteau, both in three-game thrillers. Ingram lost to Waters in the semifinals, but that can (and does) happen to anyone and everyone. Ingram displayed a lot of power and mental strength as well. In the match with Parenteau, Ingram blew a 9-4 lead in game two. A lot of players would let that bother them in game three, but Ingram came out firing in game three, winning 11-1. The physical ability is obviously paramount, but the mental strength Ingram showed will serve her very well in the future.

 

 

In men’s doubles, the local Phoenix pairing of Cam Chaffin (15) and CJ Klinger (just turned 20), had the longest run of any of the youthful teams. They made the seminfinals, losing 12-10 in the third game to Acevedo and Funemizu. Klinger has been a familiar face in late rounds of men’s doubles, but this was the first big run for Chaffin. Chaffin has shown a lot of talent in singles, and it was good to see him convert that talent to a deep doubles run.

 

 

Finally, there is my favorite story involving teenagers at Mesa, which was the men’s doubles pairing of Francis Chi (14) and Maverick Messenger (15), another local pair of Phoenix area teenagers. They got knocked out in the Round of 64 by veterans Augie Ge and Jack Sock, but they gave Ge and Sock all they could handle. Chi and Messenger won the first game, before succumbing in three games. Chi and Messenger do not have tennis backgrounds, and they represent the new breed of up-and-coming pickleball players who are not reliant on prior tennis experience. A tennis background gives a player a high initial floor, but also perhaps limits their ceiling as they bring with them a tennis mindset on how to play. With no tennis background, I expect these new pure pickleball players to employ new strategies, new shots, and new ways of thinking their way around a pickleball court. As with the other teenagers we have talked about, watch out for Chi and Messenger in future PPA events. All in all, the future of PPA is in good hands with these new players.

 

Mesa was great, and now it is on to Las Vegas for the Rate Las Vegas Open. It begins Monday, September 28 from the Darling Tennis Center. Watch it all on Pickleballtv.

 

Follow me for updates on X @pickleball_jim.