Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns continued their march to Championship Sunday with an 11-6, 11-1 victory over No. 4 seeds Anna Bright/Quang Duong.

The first-time pairing of Bright/Duong had been running through the draw with their chaotic drive-and-crash playstyle, but Waters and Johns eventually figured out to manage the barrage of attacks after falling down 1-5 in the opening game.

“It takes a while for anyone to settle in, so when you see them being super aggressive coming out, your reflexes are not quite what they are a little way through the match,” Johns noted. “After that, I thought we did a good job countering, and then I think the points at the kitchen line were favoring us as well.”

One key for Waters was dealing with Duong’s serve, which is one of the best on tour.

“I was just trying to stand as far back as possible and make sure that my return was deep enough so that I had enough time to get in and really react to his third shot drive,” she explained.

The top seeds will face Etta Wright/Christian Alshon in the final.

In the second semiginal mixed match at the Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction® Pickleball World Championships, No. 5 seeded Christian Alshon and Etta Wright won in two games against No. 8 seeded Rachel Rohrabacher and Federico Staksrud. 

The final score was 11-4, 11-9. 

“I think it was really about trying to move the ball around and try to be as steady as we can. They’re a tough team and I knew Federico was going to pull at me as well. So we had to be ready and really do that in game one,” said Alshon.

Alshon is known on the court as being an aggressive and alpha player who’s unafraid to boldly emote on the court. Meanwhile, Wright is much more calm, cool, and collected.

Despite their different demeanors, the partnership continues to excel.

“No person should be calling all the shots. Sometimes I’ll tell her advice in what we should do and other times she’s telling me what to do. Doubles is such a team effort,” continued Alshon.

Alshon/Wright will face off against Waters/Johns in the final. Even though they are 0-2 against the top seeds, they have no shortage of confidence.

“I’ve played [Anna Leigh and Ben] more than any other team in my pickleball career. So statistically, you’re bound to beat them. So, the odds are on my side every time I play them,” said Alshon.