It is time for our final player rankings for 2025.

The rankings are based on doubles play, with gender doubles weighted more than mixed doubles.

1. Ben Johns. He was challenged in 2025. He was knocked almost out of the top 10 in singles and had zero triple crowns. In doubles, the new partnership with Gabe Tardio re-energized him. In mixed, Anna Leigh Waters will not tolerate less than best effort, so no issue there. The field is slowly, but surely catching up. It is inevitable that someone will pass Johns by as the #1 player. Is 2026 that year?

 

2. Hayden Patriquin. This may be a controversial choice as No. 2, but I see Patriquin as the second best player. Indeed, his very best game may well be the very best game on the planet, but consistency is his Achilles heel. Patriquin is going to put it all together at some point, and I think he will be the player who replaces Johns as the #1 player. Can that happen in 2026? His move to play left side in men’s doubles was correct and helped his game.

 

3. Andrei Daescu. Super consistent, one of the very few players who can dink backhand to backhand with Johns. Fantastic performance at MLP. Needs to be a little pickier about who he plays mixed doubles with.

 

 

4. Gabe Tardio. He gets a lot of kudos for winning men’s doubles with Johns, but his more impressive performances are actually his mixed doubles results with Jessie Irvine. He is ranked very high at mixed, despite his partner being a step (or two) below those of the other top men.

 

5. Tie between Christian Alshon and JW Johnson. Johnson’s mixed doubles record is very impressive. Alshon played better in 2024 than 2025, but he is still very, very good.

 

7. Federico Staksrud. His singles record in 2025 was super impressive. To stay at or near the top when the game changed the way it did was a difficult task. But this is a doubles ranking and Staksrud’s results at mixed are not what they should be. In men’s doubles, he deferred at the end of 2025 to Patriquin, and I think it was the right decision as Patriquin’s game has surpassed Staksrud. Will be interesting to see if Staksrud transitions to being a full-time right side player or if he goes back to the left in 2026.

 

 

8. CJ Klinger. Klinger keeps improving, but more at men’s doubles than at mixed doubles. The top eight are pretty clear. Will anyone break through in 2026?

 

9. Eric Oncins. The most improved player of 2025 makes it into the top 10. He had some inconsistency early in 2025, then really came on at the end. Can he take another step up in 2026? Very tough to break into that top eight.

 

10. Will Howells. The most anticipated player to join PPA in several years, we have to see how Howells will do against the big boys. He dominated minor league play at APP, and also has done very well at MLP the last two years. Many people scoff at him being in the top 10, but that is where his game belongs. Now he has to prove it in 2026 against the best players in the world. Cannot wait to watch it.

 

 

11. Riley Newman. He has dropped some over the last year, but in large part due to taking some time off early in 2025. He did not have the best partners consistently in 2025, and that hurt his results. But when playing with good partners, he put up good results. Could see him transition to a full-time right side player in men’s doubles, as he has the game to be very effective on the right.

 

12. Dylan Frazier. His game was hurt in 2025 by switching away from the JOOLA paddle. Still a solid player, but I would love to see him back with a JOOLA in his hand; it made him a different/better player.

 

13. Tyson McGuffin. Mr. Consistent. With McGuffin, you know what you are getting. Total effort, steady play.

 

 

14. Augie Ge. A lefty McGuffin.

 

15. Noe Khlif. Improved a lot in 2025, so will be interesting to see if the improvement can continue in 2026. Now getting better partners, he needs to figure out if he wants to play right or left side.

 

16. Jay Devilliers. Devilliers is back in the top 20 after recovering from injuries that had held him back. Sneaky good results in both men’s and mixed doubles, especially in the second half of 2025.

 

 

17. Jaume Martinez Vich. All around solid player, has a lot of fun on the court, great player for fans to watch.

 

18. Dekel Bar. Dropped down the rankings quite a bit in 2025 as injuries took their toll. He appears to be healthy now, so he could well move up the rankings as 2026 moves along.

 

19. Pablo Tellez. Has moved around partner-wise a lot. He is a very easy player to partner with, as his game matches well with a lot of players.

 

20. Will MacKinnon. This is probably too high for him too soon, but MacKinnon is my breakout player of 2026, assuming he plays regularly on the PPA Tour. If you have not heard of MacKinnon, you will. His game is reminiscent of Patriquin. Only 17, MacKinnon has a long way to go, but this is a player who has all the potential in the world. Could he be a future No. 1 ranked player? Yes, he has that kind of potential, so I am putting him here because of that.

 

Best of the rest: Connor Garnett, Tyler Loong, AJ Koller, Jonathan Truong, Matt Wright.

 

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