PPA Cape Coral: Preview

Hurry, Hurry, the Cape Coral main draw starts today! Qualifiers wrapped up yesterday in this traditional draw Open event. Tyler’s skipping this one, so you can freely cheer for whomever you want. But read on for some ideas & storylines.

Veolia Cape Coral Open

The broadcast starting on PBTV at 11 a.m. ET. Hosting the event is re-branded facility The Courts, Cape Coral (formerly Lake Kennedy Racquet Center).

Storylines that are making waves:

• Ben is trying out various new partnerships this year; this is his 4th tournament with as many partners. This is his first tournament with Andrei Daescu

• We’re seeing lots of breakups of usual partnerships: JW & Jorja, Connor & Tyler, Jay & Callie

• MLP newbies on display: many of the new names from the MLP draft are playing, giving us a chance to see what this year’s MLP cast will look like.

What to watch in each bracket:

Women’s Singles

• We ALMOST had an upset of ALW at the Mesa Cup 2 weeks ago; Brooke Buckner will give it another go, but will have to defeat Kaitlyn Christian on her way to meet ALW in finals.

• Genie Bouchard continues to surprise the haters (not us!) - she takes on Jessie Irvine, then Parris Todd, before meeting ALW in QF if she goes on a run. In Mesa, she fell to Kaitlyn Christian in R16, in 3 games.

• Don’t miss R64 to scout some new MLP faces: Victoria DiMuzio (Bouncers), Felicity Di Laura (Shock), Lauren Hidalgo-Smith (Hard Eights)

• Salome Devidze is back (she last played in Daytona Beach) - could we see her make a run against ALW (the only woman to beat her in 2024)?

Men’s Singles

• Tyson McGuffin, who withdrew from all events in Mesa, has already withdrawn from singles; he had the #4 seed. Nicholas Romano, who was a 10th place qualifier, takes his spot and has a bye to R32.

• Look out for 17-year old John Lucian Goins, who took down Pablo Tellez at Worlds. In Mesa, he had a tough first draw against Christian Alshon but battled it out 8-11, 6-11. This event, he takes on Brandon French first and then Dylan Frazier, if he wins.

• MLP new faces: Juan Benitez (Hustlers), James Delgado (Night Owls), Stephen Madonia (Black Bears), Yuta Funemizu (Miami PBC)

Mixed Doubles

• Perhaps the biggest surprise is sibs JW & Jorja not playing together this tournament. In the Tour de Anna Bright, JW is taking a shot partnering with AB. We don’t foresee this as a long-term change, since JW and Jorja play so well together, but you never know. It’s always fun to see a switch-up. Jorja is playing with

• Jay & Callie Jo who typically partner together are also switching up: Callie is playing with Roscoe Bellamy while Jay is playing with Kate Fahey.

• MLP new faces: Carlos & Felicity Di Laura were both drafted (by Slice and Shock, respectively) but aren’t playing mixed together. Felicity is partnering with John Cincola while Carlos is playing with Tatiana Ruhl, who was drafted by Dallas Flash.

Women’s Doubles

• Waters & Parenteau once again are heavy favorites, with The Girlies Anna Bright & Rachel Rohrabacher as their biggest hurdle to another gold. (we just copied and pasted this from our Mesa preview because… new tournament, same ole story)

• Utah ladies Etta Tuionetoa & Alix Truong are partnering and have the #9 seed. If they win the first round against Christa Gecheva & Genie Erokhnia, they’ll face Jackie Kawamoto & Viv David in R16.

• MLP New faces: Tatiana Ruhl (Flash) & Lauren Hidalgo-Smith (Hard Eights) are partnering up; Victoria DiMuzio (Bouncers) is playing with Callie Jo Smith; Felicity Di Laura (Shock) is partnering with Zoey Weil

Men’s Doubles

• Of course the big story is who will play the left between Ben Johns & Andrei Daescu, who both typically take that as their dominate side. We’ll either see a lot of switching, or a lot of conflict.

• Shock teammates Gabe & Big H are the #3 seed, and sit on the Ben/Andrei side of the bracket.

• In possibly the loudest on-court partnership (sarcasm), JW & CJ Klinger are playing at #6 seed. As JW continues to find a replacement men’s partner, after losing Dylan and Gabe, we have high hopes for this one. CJ is a lefty, so they should complement each other well.

• MLP new faces: Carlos Di Laura (Slice) with John Cincola; Stephen Madonia (Black Bears) & Yuta Funemizu (Miami); Juan Benitez (Hustlers) with Chuck Taylor; Max Freeman (Slice) with Bao Duong.

Episode 129: MLP trades & updates

Premiering TODAY