PPA Atlanta Slam - here's what you've missed so far

Semi-Final Saturday is underway

Good morning, and welcome to Semi-final day at the PPA Atlanta Slam. If you’ve missed out on the action so far, we’re here to catch you up!

What you missed:

  • Rain interefered with much of the play this weekend; all of Friday’s and Saturday’s matches were moved indoors. Because of extended rain in the forecast, knowing they’d remain indoors, they also moved the Close Call Replay system as well. CCR proved its worth, even being a game-deciding factor, including this morning’s women’s singles matchup between Lea and Parris.

  • Singles scratches - injuries continue to nag players, particularly in the men’s singles event. Christian Alshon and Quang Duong both withdrew before men’s singles began, Dylan Frazier withdrew ahead of R16, Wyatt Stone retired during game 2 against Ryan Sherry, and Ben Johns withdrew after losing game 1 (5-11) to Grayson Goldin due to an ankle issue .

  • Speaking of Grayson, the #50 seed dominated all the way to quarters, where he did not go down easy, playing JW Johnson in 3 games (10-12, 11-6, 5-11). The APP “Goldin Boy” sure is turning heads on the PPA tour. Maybe he’s gunning for a contract?

  • The women’s field continues to be predictable, with #1, #2, #3 in the singles semi-finals (joined by #7 Paris Todd). Women’s doubles semi-finals are seeds #1, 2, 4, and 8, so we overall saw very few upsets across these two events. Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher are back together (after playing separately in Vegas) hoping to take down the perhaps-undefeatable ALW (and Parenteau, but we all know AL is the “it” factor everyone is trying to take down).

  • Riley and Christian hope to ride their momentum and repeat their Vegas success by taking down the Johns brothers, this time in today’s semis.

  • Tyson McGuffin struggled in men’s singles (losing in R16 to Hunter Johnson) but made it to semis in both doubles events. This is the first time he’s made it to semis in men’s doubles since the OC Cup at the end of June (where he medaled with Dekel). In mixed, he’s had various partners, but hasn’t been to semis in mixed since TX Open on June 1st, where he played with Anna Bright.

  • Our mixed lineup is looking very similar to women’s, where we saw very few upsets. The biggest upset was #14 Tyson & Lacy Schneemann beating Utah Open gold medalists Jessie & Gabe in QF, and #2 James & Anna in R16.

  • On Anna & James: can this be their last tournament playing together? They may not “need” to talk on court, according to James, but it’s clear their chemistry is not helping them win games. And Anna can do so much better. Christian, are you there?

What to watch today:

  • Singles has completed: Parris beat Lea Jansen, and Connor Garnett took down #1 Federico Staksrud

  • 1 p.m. ET - Normally a Waters/Johns matchup can be boring, but they take on the Johnson sibs, who may be among the few who could take them down. But JW needs to be awake, and Jorja needs to bring the energy.

  • Following Waters/Johns and the Johnsons, Christian and CP take on Lacy and Tyson, which should just be a solid matchup, seeing how well Tyson and Lacy have done so far.

  • The 3 p.m. ET singles/gender doubles block has some hits and misses:

    • Brooke Buckner might be able to challenge ALW, but probably not - so this is a good time to go grab a snack. Unless you like predictable outcomes, in which case - enjoy.

    • The Johns bros & Riley/Christian have a rematch, after the latter took down the bros in QF in Vegas. Are Ben and Collin fired up enough for retribution? Or are they gonna phone it in again?

    • #1 Johnson/Frazier vs. #7 McGuffin/Martinez Vich should be an interesting one to watch. J-Dub and Dylan are great, but not completely unbeatable, and it looks like Tyson and Jaume are hitting a stride in their partnership.

See the latest pod
Thanks to our sponsors…
The Picklr
Vulcan Pickleball
C&D Pickleball Nets
Pickleball Central .com

Reply

or to participate.