PPA Worlds - it's on!

MLP Cup recap

Over the weekend, the crowds were warmed up at the MLP Cup event, reuniting 2025 MLP teams for the last time before drops, trades, and new rules (we assume) shake things up. In Premier, the St. Louis Shock toppled the Dallas Flash in finals, winning all matchups except women’s doubles (which ended 13-11).

In Challenger, the one & only California Black Bears took the title in the Challenger round, beating the Bay Area Breakers in semis 3-0, and handily taking down the DC Pickleball Team in finals.

Jenius Bank Pickleball World Championships

The excitement has been building for months, and now the time is upon us: PPA Worlds kicked off yesterday with qualifiers in this 3,000-point progressive draw event.

Prepare yourself for an exciting week at the Brookhaven Country Club! Whether you're a fan, a pro, or a player, there's something for everyone with thrilling matchups, amazing musical performances, and a host of exciting events. Jump into the fun with a wood paddle tournament, feel the excitement of glow-in-the-dark pickleball, and who knows, you might even meet someone special at speed dating. And be sure to catch the eagerly awaited Celebrity Showdown— featuring Terrell Owens, Dirk Nowitski, and more— happening on Wednesday night!

Women’s Singles

• Anna Leigh Waters (1) rested during MLP Cup, presumably to prepare for a long week of competition and in the hopes of a triple crown. She’s currently undefeated in singles events she’s played in 2025.

• Working her way up the rankings over the last several events is Genie Bouchard (9), who just captured a silver in Vegas after beating Jorja Johnson, Kate Fahey, and Catherine Parenteau. She’ll potentially face Brooke Buckner (5) in R16, which she can feasibly win given her recent results.

• Be on the lookout for some interesting matchups featuring up-and-comers who have made waves over the last several events. Kiora Kunimoto (39) (a 17-year-old tennis player from Hawaii) has had several upsets in Virginia Beach and Sacramento. Isabella Dunlap (52), a former collegiate tennis player, beat Mari Humberg and took Lea Jansen to 3 games at the Vegas Open. Twelve-year-old lefty, Elsie Hendershot (50), who trains under Allyce Jones’ 4RTH team, made quite an impression competing for the Jr MLP All-Star team. Dutch superstar Roos Van Reek (51) from PPA Australia is playing stateside, and sits in Parris’s corner of the bracket. Could we be poised for any interesting upsets?

Men’s Singles

• Round of 128 started early this morning in this massive bracket, with the remaining R64 matches finishing today. Some notable matchups from this round: Camden Chaffin defeated recently signed Andrew Caldarella. He’ll face Hunter Johnson (1) next. His Jr MLP teammate, Tama Shimabukuro (56) won R128, but just lost to Chris Haworth (13).

• Qualifier Oliver Frank (72) upset #57 John Cincola (including a pickle!) and heads to a matchup with Jack Sock (6) in R64.

• Ben Johns has slipped to the #7 seed, but if he puts forth his best effort, he could easily make it to finals. But, if he decides to phone it in he’ll need to look out for known-upsetter Alex Crum (28), and Michael Loyd (9) or Jay Devilliers (16) in R16.

Mixed Doubles

• Top seeds Ben & AL (1), the Johnsons (2), Anna & Hayden Patriquin (3) and Tyra & Christian (4), round out each corner of the bracket and will be hard to surpass. Mixed dubs is getting tightly competitive as these partnerships solidify, leaving it hard for lower seeds to make a dent.

• On the periphery of these top seeds are strong contenders like Fed & Parris (8), Andrei & Rachel (6), sibs Jonathan & Alix Truong (12), and Gabe & Jessie (5).

• Utah junior training team 4RTH (coached by Allyce Jones) produced several now-signed PPA pros, including Elsie Hendershot & Braden Jacobson (78) who will be interesting to watch as they go up against #49 John Cincola & Zoeya Khan, then Noe & Lacy Schneemann (15), if they win the first round.

Women’s Doubles

• Bright & Waters (1) are attempting to continue their domination, facing Parris & Catherine (2), Jorja & Tyra (3), or Jade Kawamoto & Rachel Rohrabacher (4) at the top of each corner of the bracket.

• Look out for Black Bears teammates Lina & Layne (15) who play Ting Wei & Lindsey Newman (18) but lie in the pathway of the Annas in R16.

• Kiora Kunimoto is partnering with Ella Yeh, recently signed junior player who competed on Jr MLP All-Stars this past weekend. With the #33 seed, if they win their first matchup against Camilla Zilvetti & Audrey Adele Brown (32), they’ll face Tyra & Jorja in R32.

Men’s Doubles

• At the top of the draw, the duo of Gabe Tardio & Ben Johns (1) are poised for big impact, and their opening section sets up a clash with strong contenders if they progress. Black Bears teammates Marty Emmrich & Michael Loyd (21) could leverage momentum from their MLP win and be ready to force an upset in R32 tomorrow.

• Eric Oncins & Matt Wright are pairing up again and have the 5 seed, after winning bronze together at the Vegas Open. They should have a fairly easy path to R16 where they’re likely to face #3 Fed Staksrud & Hayden Patriquin.

• Christian Alshon & Andrei Daescu (2) have medaled together in the last 6 events they’ve partnered for, but haven’t clinched gold since Red Rock in March. The did claim gold over Ben & Gabe in Mesa back in February, so it’s about time they return to glory.

Programming & Can’t-Miss Events

Check out the daily events happening at Worlds, kicking off with the Round of 64 today!

Coverage for Worlds will be broadcast on PickleballTV, Tennis Channel, and locally on NOW27. Championship Sunday will air on tape delay on ESPN2.

Side court streaming will be broadcast on YouTube.

Episode 168: PPA Vegas Recap

Tyler & Jimmy recap the Las Vegas Cup event & give a preview of MLP Cup + Worlds. Be sure to follow our Instagram and subscribe to our channel for live pods this week during Worlds!