Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters competing at the IHG Hotels & Resorts Bristol Open presented by Deep Eddy Vodka.
Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters were clinical in their pursuit title No. 10 on the year. PPA Tour

Waters, Johns dominate Bright, Alshon for mixed doubles crown

BRISTOL, TN - Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns closed out Sunday’s action at Bristol Sportsplex with an 11-3, 11-1, 11-4 victory over No. 2 seeds Anna Bright and Christian Alshon in the mixed doubles final.

It was an impressive performance for the top seeds, who seemed to be riding the high of their earlier victories in the women’s doubles and men’s singles finals.

 

Johns—who dictated the match with aggressive-yet-controlled attacks—gave all the credit to his partner.

“[Anna Leigh] is super easy to play with, so I just get to go with the flow and try and play good points,” he said.

If only playing pickleball at the highest level was truly that simple.

With ten mixed doubles titles together in 2024, Waters and Johns will now turn their attention towards their next tournament: the Las Vegas Pickleball Cup, set to run Aug. 26-Sept. 1.

In the bronze medal match, No. 14 seeds Jackie Kawamoto and Jaume Martinez Vich concluded their impressive run with an 11-5, 11-7 victory over No. 4 seeds Tina Pisnik and Dekel Bar, marking a podium finish for the first-time pairing.