The PPA Tour’s next stop is the Fasenra Virginia Beach Cup presented by JOOLA. Top stars including Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters return to action. The draws are large, and the top seeds are all playing, so winning a medal will be a tough task in this one.

 

 

The Big Four are all in action, with Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio as the top seed, Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin at #2, Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon at #3, and CJ Klinger/JW Johnson at #4. Those four teams have had a stranglehold on the four semifinal spots. Can anyone pull an upset and break through to the semis? Dekel Bar returns to action after injuries. He is seeded #5 with Tyson McGuffin, and they drew the best matchup available, as they will play Klinger/Johnson in the quarters, if both teams advance. Bar/McGuffin will have the best chance of any of the seeds outside the top four to make the medal rounds.

 

Outside the top four, one must-see match to anticipate is a potential Round of 16 match between #8 Jay Devilliers/Matt Wright and #9 Pat Smith/Riley Newman. For a low seed to keep an eye on, I like #24 Tam Trinh/Jonathan Truong. They are young, athletic, and improving. They have a good draw and could surprise by making a run.

2. Women’s doubles: Can the ALW and AB get back on track?

 

Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright get the top seeds. After a fast start to this partnership, the Anna’s have been upset in the last two tournaments. Quite simply, they have played poor strategy, with too many improvident speedups. In addition, Bright has not played up to her status as the #2 ranked player. Fortunately for them, the two partnerships that beat them recently are not playing together in this event, so the road to gold looks pretty open.

 

The most recent gold medalists were Jackie and Jade Kawamoto. But, this time Jackie is playing with Lucy Kovalova and is seeded #7, while Jade is playing with Catherine Parenteau and is seeded #3. Those two teams, if they advance, will play each other in the quarterfinals in what should be a very entertaining match.

 

The other team to conquer the Anna’s was Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black. This time, Johnson is seeded #2 alongside Rahcel Rohrabacher, while Black is playing with Parris Todd and is seeded #4. Those teams could face each other in the seminfinals. 

 

The problem in this draw is that the pairings are not likely to be as much as a threat to upset Waters and Bright. The Kawamotos are always steady, but they play their best pickleball together. Johnson and Black are together the second best team, but both are weaker apart. To defeat Waters and Bright, teams have to play very tough defense and be able to counter effectively. The other players involved this week, Kovalova, Parenteau, Rohrabacher, and Todd, are all good players, but are a step down in the skills needed to defeat Waters and Bright. Could an upset happen? Of course. But the likelihood is lower this week.

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns have the top seed, have a very favorable draw, and will be an overwhelming favorite to take the gold. Their toughest task looks to be, as usual, the #2 seed Jorja and JW Johnson. The Johnsons have a tougher draw, with #5 Tyra Black and Hayden Patriquin likely waiting for a quarterfinal showdown. For Waters and Johns, their toughest test is likely the new team of #3 Anna Bright and CJ Klinger. The #4 seed is the new team of Parris Todd and Christian Alshon. They have a good draw and should make the semifinals.

 

The mixed draw is very deep and will provide a lot of interesting early matches. In the Round of 64, #21 Zoey Wang/Pablo Tellez will take on #43 Zoey Weil/Wyatt Stone, and #20 Allyce Jones/Roscoe Bellamy will play #41 Victoria DiMuzio/Jack Sock. Another good one is a likely Round of 32 match between #10 Etta Tuionetoa/Eric Oncins and #22 Mari Humberg/Augie Ge. These type of early round matches will be very entertaining and show how strong the draws have become.

 

 

For unpredictability, nothing can touch men’s singles. As usual, the draw includes 30 or more players who can legitimately entertain thoughts of a gold medal. Hunter Johnson is deservedly the top seed, but to win he will have to fight his way through top players all the way. For example, his likely Round of 16 opponent is #21 Grayson Goldin, presenting a match that is gold medal quality. The #2 seed is Federico Staksrud and his road is even more difficult than is Hunter Johnson’s. In the Round of 16, Staksrud will face the winner of #15 Chris Haworth vs. #22 Jay Devilliers. Haworth is easily a top 10 player, while Devilliers has enjoyed rejuvenated play now that he is 100% healthy. And if Staksrud can get by that tough match, his very likely quarterfinal opponent will be recent two-time gold medalist #8 John Lucian Goins.

 

In other action, #3 seed Connor Garnett is likely looking ahead to a potential quarterfinal match vs. #6 Jack Sock. It seems Garnett and Sock play each other every tournament. Before that can happen, Sock has to face #29 Alex Crum in the Round of 32. In Crum, Sock will face one of the very few opponents who may be able to hit harder than he can. Talk about a must-see match!

 

Another match demonstrating the difficulty of the draws is a Round of 64 match between #30 James Ignatowich and #36 Julian Arnold. Ignatowich played well in Sacramento with a wood paddle, but can he keep going now that we are back to normal paddles?

 

 

As difficult as it is to pick a winner in men’s singles, the choice in women’s singles is simple. Anna Leigh Waters has been pretty much invincible in 2025 and with Kate Fahey out this week, ALW’s road to a singles gold looks plain. Her quarterfinal opponent is set to be #5 Catherine Parenteau. But first Parenteau will have to get by #9 Judit Castillo, no easy task. Even if she does, Waters has Parenteau’s number in singles, so much so that Parenteau looks defeated as soon as they take the court. The only player in the top half of the draw who looks to have any chance to defeat Waters is #3 Parris Todd. Todd has been playing good singles, but the question as always is whether she can break through against Waters.

 

The #2 seed goes to Kaitlyn Christian. Competition on her side of the draw will come from #4 Brooke Buckner, #6 Lea Jansen, and #8 Genie Bouchard. These players will all play each other tough, but can any of them test Waters in a final?

 

 

The surest bets are, as usual, in the events Anna Leigh Waters plays. Can she net a Triple Crown in Virginia Beach? I think so.

 

Men’s doubles: Johns/Tardio over Staksrud/Patriquin

Women’s doubles: Waters/Bright over Todd/Black

Mixed doubles: Waters/Johns over Patriquin/Black

Men’s singles: Hunter Johnson over Garnett

Women’s singles: Waters over Christian

 

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