
Waters, Johns cruise past Johnson siblings for mixed doubles title
Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns struck gold in mixed doubles with an 11-4, 11-3, 14-12 victory over No. 2 seeds Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson.
Even though Johns had played five games of men’s doubles in the first bout of the day on Humana Championship Court, he seemed to be fresh as he and Waters put together a dominant performance.
The Johnsons threatened to extend the match when they had three game points in the third game, but Waters/Johns stayed strong and eventually closed out the match in straight games to secure their second title together in as many weeks.
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This win gives Waters her 50th career mixed doubles title on the PPA Tour, and her 47th with Johns at her side.
She spoke about what makes her partnership with Johns work so well.
“I feel like we have great chemistry on the court. Our games mesh very well together, so I feel like that’s kind of what has brought us here,” she mentioned. “We’ve known each other forever, and Ben’s like an older brother to me.”
Johns—who has pro titles dating back to 2017—talked about just how far the sport has come in eight years.
“It was a completely different world back then,” he recalled. “Most people were showing up just to play the game of pickleball. It’s still incredibly enjoyable, but now we get to play it in front of a lot of people that also love pickleball on some incredible championship courts. I’m very thankful for pickleball and everything it’s brought.”
In the bronze medal match, No. 4 seeds Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin beat No. 26 seeds Alix Truong/Eric Oncins by an 11-6, 11-0 score line.
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