PPA Tour Newport Beach Shootout and Minto US Open – Live Random Thoughts

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We have two tournaments going on this weekend as the US Open started last weekend in Naples, Florida and has been going on with split age pro and senior pro events. The PPA Newport Shootout is doubles only. The mixed doubles final will not happen on Sunday either as it will be played on Friday and then air on CBS Saturday morning at Doubles only with a different broadcast schedule. So look for Mixed Doubles Final on Saturday to air on CBS – however, the match will be played on Friday evening. As you can also see in the photo above, it looks like the second half of the mixed day will be aired on CBS Sports Network. The PPA and CBS just announced a new TV deal this week but it will be disappointing if we start to get more of these non-simulcast channels that amount to paywalls. Tons of pickleball to watch this weekend and we’ll try to keep up with it here at NML for you.

Sunday, April 23rd – PPA Championship Sunday

11:42 am EST (Waggish) PPA – Championship Sunday order of play: Gold for WD then MD followed by Bronze for MD then WD. Who’s pumped to see the hands battles between Riley and JW? I am sure I’ll have to stand during the entire match about 2 inches from the TV so I don’t miss a single flick. And hopefully no moths/bugs (that can look like rats on screen) to obscure the action. Will the crowd get behind Whitehead/Tardio to rile up a reaction from Tellez? And what tweets/instagrams will be flying to distract us from the stream? Let’s go (at 1:00 pm EST).

3:30 pm EST (Waggish) – Smith/Kovalova (S/K) vs Koop/Bright (K/B) WD Gold. Game 1: 3-7-1 foot fault on Callie challenge by S/K. Opponents saw it, ref saw it, viewers saw it. Koop/Bright win game 1 11-7. Game 2: After Bright makes 2 unforced errors and Smith/Kovalova get 3 points, K/B take a time-out which works to quickly get them a side-out. Despite K/B having more speed-ups when all 4 neutral at the net, Smith/Kovalova win game 2 11-7. At end of game 2, medical time-out for Koop. Dylan takes the court to warm Anna up during the time-out. Announcers said Koop had a rib out and needed a chiropractor to adjust it! Game 3, S/K get an early lead 5-0 but curiously K/B take no time-out like they did in game 2. Their first time-out was at 8-10-1 which would have stopped their momentum after winning a fierce battle. At 8-10-2, out call by K/B that looked like S/K wanted to challenge but they didn’t. From then on, it’s tense! At 10-9-1, K/B challenge an out call by Kovalova at game point for S/K. In! S/K eventually win 13-11 but what a nail biter finish! A tame game 4 with too many high balls from K/B giving S/K the Gold (11-3).

5:30 pm EST (Waggish) – Frazier/Johnson vs Wright/Newman MD Gold. This is the match that shows the improvement in Dylan and the team Frazier/Johnson. They’ve faced Wright/Newman multiple times. In the past, Riley made Dylan the target and Dylan couldn’t handle his attacks. You saw a different Dylan today – ready to return, ready to counter-attack. You also saw different team play. In the past, Dylan let himself get pushed off the line and not return to it. Or he’d let himself get drawn to middle and not defend his sideline. Today, the team stayed compact at the NVZ for the majority of the play. Wright/Newman got very few balls past that solid front. I thought I would see the speed-ups win or lose the match. Can’t say I saw that as the main factor. Here are some great rallies: Game 2: 7-9-1 speed-up, great hands. Game 3: 2-1-2 and 2-2-2, 7-10-1: see how early Riley reads what will happen next, he rushes back to baseline in prep for JW’s soon to be ATP. Matt and Riley get 2 chances at game point at 10-6. They take a time-out at the run from Dylan and JW at 8-10-1. Dylan and JW move ahead and get a chance at game point. Side-out and their second chance gets them the gold! 12-10, 11-8, 12-10. Matt was shown sitting on the bench afterwards with a stunned look.

8:25 pm EST (Waggish) – Bronze goes to the expected winners: Staksrud/Tellez defeats Whitehead/Tardio (5,5). Grechkina/Stratman defeat Schneemann/Padegimaite (9,4). 5th place WD from yesterday: Tereschenko/Dizon defeat Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson (8).

Saturday, April 22nd – PPA Doubles and US Open Mixed

8:45 am EST (Waggish) – Today we have MXD at US Open. Keep your eyes peeled at who is Milan Rane’s partner. Will it be Long or Daescu? For PPA, we have MXD Gold match on CBS followed by MD/WD. The WD field is small so they jump immediately into QF! The start time shows 12:30 which seems early for such a small field and given that MD will have a 10:30 start with the Gold match first. Etta Wright/Jessie Irvine team won’t play as Etta is sick. I’m expecting some chalk results. The MD SF might be as good as a Gold match with a possible Frazier/Johnson vs Johns fiery match-up and a possible McGuffin/Ignatowich vs Wright/Newman show-down.

12:45 pm EST – A lot to catch up on at the US Open as we await the tape delayed final for the CBS broadcast. Someone posted a photo with the Johnson siblings on Facebook captioned “The Champs and moi”. Honestly, we haven’t bothered to confirm this result and the PPA has somehow done a very good job of keeping the result off mainstream social media. At the US Open, Andrei Daescu looks to have taken the spot of Brendon Long with Milan Rane and they lost a barn burner of a match to Barr/Nunnery in the quarters, 16-14 in the third, as Barr/Nunnery will now face Todd/Johnson in the semis. Ryler DeHeart must be healthy today as he and Megan Fudge have had a good run getting by the Emmrich married duo and Laughlin/Sobek pretty easily. They will play Jardim/Yates in the semis.

There are too many results to keep track of here but one of interest for us was Pickleball McNasty, Matt Manasse, going 0-2 with Shelby Bates. At this level of mixed, going 0-2 with a legit Challenger player is not good for Pickleball McNasty. We can safely assume his time in MLP is done unless something massive changes. Eden Lica and Lee Whitwell losing to Laughlin/Sobek in 3 tight ones and then going down early in the backdraw is not a great sign for them, especially Eden Lica, who just is what he is these days.

1:55 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Schneemann/McGuffin vs Jorja and JW Johnson: Mixed Gold. PPA gets 1 hour so we have a 2/3 match instead of 3/5. Both women playing tight with unforced errors. JW looks cool as a spring breeze. Once everyone got warmed up, we are treated to some great rallies. Rather funny to see that big sun streak right in the middle of the court. Then you have all the flurries (bugs?) in the air. Jorja is a beast handling that power coming off Tyson’s paddle. James would probably be turning his back to it (joking!). In a past interview, JW had mentioned about maybe getting a mental coach or performance coach. He sure looked like he has found one! Great job by all players. Johnsons 11-9, 11-7. Jorja’s grin when they won was big enough to eclipse the sun. I am sure Julie wished she could have been on their bench to be the first to congratulate them.

3:32 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – UPSET ALERT: Johns team go down to Newell-LockLear in their round of 16 (10,4). It wasn’t streamed so unknown what happened. They may have been playing behind the GS court that was being streamed. That must give Frazier/Johnson a very good shot at Sunday!

It took DJ a while to get warmed up. Their first round opponents had 8 before DJ and Zane got past 2. But then they come from behind and win in 2. Dylan and JW didn’t have that problem in their first game. They were ready to go with clear domination.

4:05 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – Lange/Devilliers vs Rettenmaier/Arnold was a close game 1. Jay wearing tape on his arm so he may be nursing an injury or preventing one. Lange/Devilliers come from behind in game 2. See 6-10 – a great rally with an ATP plus defense. Lange/Devilliers (9,10).

5:30 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – McGuffin/Ignatowich vs Staksrud/Tellez with SMOKE and STEAM! First interruption is smoke drifting onto court. Then 9-6-1 Ball hits post but neither ref caught it. Don Stanley was on opposite side so probably didn’t have a clear view – plus watching feet. Staksrud asked about it and after discussion, refs decided it did. Very clear on stream that it did. Staksrud/Tellez got stuck on 9 for about 5 side-outs before moving to 10. In game 2, Staksrud got heated about Tyson’s serve. Don sternly said “I’m watching, I’m watching”. At 10-4, the serve looked illegal to me but Don was kneeling and turned towards the baseline and didn’t call it. Stanley also getting testy with the audience’s “interference with the rally”. Game 3 at 3-2-1, Stanley again gets testy with crowd and threatens eviction! From the stream, you can’t tell what the audience is doing. Tellez on fire at 3-6-2 rally. At 4-7, Tyson does an ATP that looked like it could have been hit with his paddle on the opponent’s side of the net. Makes me wonder what the rule is. If ball lands outside of court like in an ATP and spins to other side of post, is it legal for player to cross post and hit it. At 7-8-1 someone in crowd yelled out when ball bounced (in). M/I complained and we get another admonition from Stanley. I think refs are deciding whether to replay but surely not because ball was in. I cannot believe it because they had so many opportunities that they blew but Staksrud/Tellez win! (9,8-,9). They play Dawson/Loong in QF.

Frazier/Johnson vs Alshon/Hewett: Easy game 1 for Dylan and JW but ran into some trouble in game 2. Alson/Hewett keeping Dylan and JW back or pushing them off the line. Dylan and JW win but not easy. (3,8-,7) They face Lange/Devilliers in QF. Newman/Wright face Navratil/Young in their QF.

6:20 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – Newman/Wright vs Navratil/Young QF. Matt and Riley came close to losing game 1 when DJ and Zane got hot to catch up with them at 9-9. But they get it done in 2 (9,7).

G.Whitehead/Tardio had no trouble beating Newell/Locklear in the QF (2,7). So does that mean they are better than Johns/Johns? That was such a surprise upset earlier.

7:15 pm EST – US Open we have Todd/Jardim winning in 3 against Fudge/Oshiro, 9-11, 11-5 and 11-4. Quality match for Oshiro/Fudge and a good run for them. In the bronze is Hendry/Foster playing Fudge/DeHeart. Amanda Hendry and Jack Foster getting to a bronze medal match in this field is no joke and speaks to both of their continued, gradual improvement as players and a partnership. They beat Nunnery/Barr, 16-14, to get there while Fudge/DeHeart squeaked by Oshiro/Gabrielsen, 16-14, who also had a nice run on the day in their first-time partnership together.

Some thoughts on the PPA stuff. We have weird results on the day. The kids, Tardio/Whitehead, being able to smoke Newell/Locklear really seems to speak to how fluky that result for the Johns brothers was earlier. Their first loss all year comes to a team that got beat 7 and 2 by Gabe Tardio and Garrett Whitehead. Ignatowich/McGuffin played a lot with Ignatowich on that right and he just looks like he is second guessing himself out there right now, especially on his drops and in transition. Losing 11-9 in the third to Pablo/Fed has to be a tough pill to swallow but these are the reps that are needed. A big win earlier for Lange/Devilliers against Arnold/Rettenmaier and this is a perfect partnership for Devilliers where he can take a bunch of court but has a heavy, countering partner to help him out. Lange looked like he was laboring in the 2nd game of their last match so we’ll see how effectively he is moving here against JW/Dylan.

7:35 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – WD QF: Kovalova/Smith win over Tereschenko/Dizon (9,6) without any drama. Koop/Bright over Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson in 2 (2,3). I watched a few minutes but play was unbearably ugly.

Dawson//Loong vs Staksrud/Tellez QF on GS. Staksrud/Tellez may have been relieved to get on GS away from the rowdy anti-crowd on CC. Dawson/Loong had a long wait since their last match and it showed in their slower reaction times in game 1. Staksrud/Tellez were hot from their recent win and get another win in 2 (4,5). They face Newman/Wright in SF.

8:05 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – The fast hands of Dylan and JW were all that were needed to overpower Lange and Devilliers in QF (6,2). Don’t let that 2 in 2nd game fool you. Jay and Erik put up a strong fight.

9:35 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – Breaking News – Sarah Ansboury paddle failed the delam test. They forfeit. She and Braverman had beat Schneeman/Padegimaite. So that team plays in the SF against Kovolova/Smith. Sarah plays with Gamma Obsidian – their unreleased carbon fiber paddle (which Riley also uses). Also, Salome Devidze passed her delam test – challenged at Red Rock.

UPDATE: I reviewed the video. No paddles were gathered at the end of the QF. No ref was approached by any player. So I assume testing must have been automatic before a SF?

Newman/Wright vs Staksrud/Tellez SF. See the amazing rally at 4-4 game 1! Newman/Wright in 2: (7,7)

10:00 pm EST (Waggish) PPA Frazier/Johnson vs G.Whitehead/Tardio SF. Dylan and JW smoked them in game 1. But game 2 was fun watching the young hands go at it. I have the utmost respect for the experience and court IQ of Riley and Matt and their hands but I don’t see how the blur of Dylan and JW hands cannot win gold on Sunday. (1,3).

10:55 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – Kovalova/Wright vs Schneemann/Padegimaite SF. Game 1, good rally at 5-1 before the time-out. Game 2, see rally at 8-8 and the following one that led to 9-8. Lacy and Lina almost forced a game 3 but fell short (3,9).

MD backdraw: 5th place goes to Navratil/Young after their win against McGuffin/Ignatowich (8).

11:40 pm EST (Waggish) PPA – Grechkina/Stratman beat Jansen/Jones (9,6) to get into the SF against Koop/Bright. Koop/Bright have not been pushed today. Their opponents accumulated scores is 12 across 4 games. Koop/Bright win (5,6). WD Backgraw: Black/Johnson playing Tereschenko/Dizon for 5th place. TBD

Friday, April 21st – PPA Mixed and US Open Doubles

11:17 am EST – We have two fairly heavy favorites at the US Open, headlined by Simone Jardim/Parris Todd on the women’s side. It is doubtful that any team in the US Open field will give them any trouble on the day. Kyle Yates/Andrei Daescu will not have as easy a road on the men’s side, although their run to the semi-finals looks relatively safe. They avoid the Johnson brothers on their half of the draw, but Long/Klinger looming will be no easy task. Long/Klinger actually went to 3 games in their first round match but they are through. A slight upset, Mick and McNulty over Hubschmann/Kusmider in 3 tight ones. Otherwise, pretty standard stuff to start the day.

What we’ll be looking for today at the PPA is who will take the reigns without Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns together. Ben has had a previous partnership with Andrea Koop that did not result in gold, Anna Bright and James Ignatowich won gold two weeks ago, Riley Newman is playing with Allyce Jones for the first time and there are a whackload of other competitive teams as always in these mixed draws. We also noticed Dominique Schaefer and internet star, David Dobrik, got a free pass to the main draw together. It is possible that Schaefer had enough PPA points from a couple of mixed pro wins last year to get her into the main draw, but it continues to be odd that the PPA is okay giving well-known people free passes to the main draw. On the other hand, it should give two teams a free win.

12:49 pm EST – We somehow missed Joey Farias and Andreas Siljestrom in our US Open preview. They would have been somewhere in that 3rd to 5th range. They are a quality team that looked like they had a fight against Querrey/Burrows, winning 9 and 10. All else has gone pretty much as expected on the men’s side. For the women, Bobbi Oshiro/Megan Fudge had to fight against Mari Humberg/Martina Frantova, winning in two close games. The other notable result was Tina Pisnik/Tammy Emmrich getting by Nobler/Laughlin, 11-8 and 11-3. Good win for those two.

2:27 pm EST – We’ll begin with a PPA early result. Radzikowska/Hewett over Irina/Callan, 0 and 5. Radzikowska getting some reps against higher level play is interesting to see and, while Callan is not nearly the mixed player Rafa is, that is a beat down.

At the US Open, DeHeart seemed to hurt his knee partway through game 1 but came back to finish a match they lose in 2 to the Johnson twins. The semi-final matchups are set with Gridley/Barrientos set to play Daescu/Yates after they beat Long/Klinger. That’s a quality win for the Utah funky town duo as they take down 1 challenger player and 1 almost guaranteed to be Premier player. The other side will be Farias/Siljestrom vs. the Johnson twins. Farias/Siljestrom get by Gabrielsen/Lica in 3 tough ones. Those could both be interesting matches.

Truong/Rane will play Jardim/Todd with a couple of fairly close matches for them in their first two rounds while the other side features Oshiro/Todd vs. Bates/Barr. Pretty chalky all around at the US Open for the most part.

3:00 pm EST (Waggish) – On CCA: Grechkina/Newell vs Buckner/Staksrud: Close match that went to 3 games. Buckner/Staksrud clearly the better team in game 2. But game 3 Grechkina/Newell both got more aggressive and it went down to the wire with a tie at 9-9. Staksrud did a rare speed-up to get them to match point. But a side-out gives Grechkina/Newell a chance but 2 net balls and next time Buckner/Staksrud close it out. 11-13, 11-8, 11-9.

on GS: C.Smith/C.Johns vs Sheehan/C.Alshon: Game 1 Smith/Johns demolished Sheehan/Alshon. But Sheehan/Alshon managed on early lead in game 2 at 8-3. Smith/Johns come all the way back to 9-8. But Sheehan/Alshon take it to push to game 3 (in progress).

4:05 pm EST (Waggish) – on GS: C.Smith/C.Johns vs Sheehan/C.Ashlon (continued): For some reason in game 3, Meghan played left. So she was across from Callie most of the time and cross-court dinked with Collin. They didn’t receive any advantage to that so curious what the thought was behind it. Collin and Callie take it 11-3, 9-11, 11-1. They are now playing Brother Johns and Koop in QF after their (5,1) defeat of L.Newman/Lange. Jansen/Rettenmeir defeat Stratman/Arnold (9,2).

GS: Irvine/Devilliers vs Schneemann/McGuffin: Schneemann/McGuffin somehow managed to win game 2 despite spending most of it at the baseline. Game 3, Jessie was hanging out with one foot outside of the sideline to give Jay plenty of room to dominate that middle. Tyson and Lacy still did a great job keeping the ball away from Jay by targeting that narrow alley. Correction: win 6-11, 11-5, 11-7 for Tyson and Lacy.

The TV timeouts on CC are rather disconcerting. They can’t show the court while the TV ads are running on CBSSN so show people milling around at the venue. Makes you think no match is going on when switching back and forth between CC and GS.

4:20 pm EST – Just to give an update on some other matches of interest to us. Schneemann/McGuffin barely squeezed by Pablo/Michelle Esquivel in round 1, 12-10 in the third, and they are now past Jessie/Jay. Funny how these days work. Lange/Lindsey Newman got by Brascia/Patriquin, 11-9 in the third, which is a quality win. Patrquin/Maggie play well together and were close to knocking off Bright/Iggy last week. Noteworthy that Hayden and Erik Lange are fighting for a season 2 Premier spot, and Lange does seem to be working on that mixed game. One other result was Lucy/Matt just getting past Loong/Braverman, 11-8 in the third. One thing to watch for is these ladies that love the left keeping playing with partners that allow them to stay there like Radzikowska with Hewett and Braverman with Loong – it makes their traditional mixed game tougher to evaluate.

At the US Open, it will be Todd/Jardim versus Fudge/Oshiro in the finals. Fudge/Oshiro got past Bates/Barr but we didn’t get to see it on the stream. A toss up of a match and a good win for Fudge/Oshiro. The men’s final is set with Yates/Daescu to play the Johnson twins as expected. The Johnson’s looked to have played a tight one against Farias/Siljestrom, but were able to pull it out.

5:35 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Koop/Johns vs C.Smith/C.Johns QF: Callie and Collin led in game 2 with well-timed speed-ups and getting balls they could attack. Video challenge in game 3 when Koop called a ball out (presumably Ben agreed) hit by Collin. At 0,0 score so that is an early loss of time-out if Collin loses the challenge. And ball was in! Some good rallies at 1-0. We know Ben is not going to let Collin take the spotlight in the CBS gold broadcast on Saturday. So expect him to play singles as needed to win the match. See rally at 3-5 – got the crowd fired up. Callie and Collin had some good opportunities and they gave Ben and Koop a hard fight. Callie was ready with her Erne whenever Koop gave her an opening. A great rally at 7-8-2. Ben and Koop: 11-3, 7-11, 11-7. Well done by Collin and Callie to attack every chance they had.

JW and Jorga Johnson vs Kovalova/Wright QF on GS: Lot of errors in game 1 by JW and Jorja. They cleaned that up in game 2. Game 3 goes down to the wire – tied at 8-8. JW is ready to do that put away on every high ball. His hands seem to be a blur on some of those points. The Johnsons win 3-11, 11-3, 11-8.

6:25 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Bright/Ignatowich vs Schneemann/McGuffin QF on CC: Video challenge of Lacy’s serve at 9-5-2. Anna calls it out. Ball is out. Lacy is on FIRE for game 1! 11-7 for them. BPJ decides to show up in game 2 (big papa jimmy). See rally at 10-7! Very disappointing loss for James and Anna after having multiple chances at game point. (7,10) for Lacy and Tyson. They get Ben/Koop in SF. Not sure when that airs.

A.Jones/R.Newman vs Jansen/Rettenmaier QF on GS: I wish they had that fish-bowl camera view on GS. Riley made so many great shots at the net. And he showed his athleticism in game 2 when he jumped over to sideline from middle of the court on a poach to avoid the NVZ. Jones was letting Riley do Riley which surprised me for a first time partnership. He played left and so she didn’t get confused switching sides like can happen a lot with Riley’s MXD game. They win (7,9). They face Johnsons in SF.

7:10 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Johnsons vs Jones/Newman SF: Jorja/JW 11-7 game 1 bringing the power. Allyce started game 2 playing left. No clear advantage and Riley went back to left. Doesn’t seem to effect Johnsons who is where. They can identify the target on each shot and have deadly accuracy. They get to the Gold (7,5). They made mincemeat in game 2 of Jones and Newman. Impressive performance from them.

7:23 pm EST – Some US Open stuff. Bronze for Truong/Rane as they smoke Pisnik/Emmrich, 1 and 0. It seems this match may not have given us the best gauge of Pisnik/Emmrich as Truong/Rane barely got to bronze while Pisnik/Emmrich won 15-7 over Bates/Barr. It’s a great 4th place for them as they are working their way up the pro ranks. Farias/Siljestrom beat Gridley/Barrientos to get a nice bronze on their end, 11-1 and 11-9. Farias/Siljestrom have been a strong APP team this year and they continue to show that at this level they get wins.

8:05 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Koop/Johns vs Schneemann/McGuffin: Lacy and Tyson kept the pressure on Koop and Ben to win game 1. Tyson’s lateral movement and the power on his overheads has really improved since his long break. Ben’s body language says he is checking out of game 2. I’m beginning to wonder if his paddle has a problem with his uncharacteristic net balls. But some errors by Lacy and Tyson give them hope and they finally move to the lead in game 2. But Tyson and Lacy get hot again and win. 11-6, 11-8. WOW! Another Gold match with a first time team. Johnsons have been there once before this year.

Announcers said Etta Wright is sick so not playing today (with Zane) or tomorrow with Jessie.

Backdraw update: Mary Brascia/Frazier over Brascia/Patriquin and then Smith/Johns. They are playing Bright/Ignatowich now (streaming on GS) after their win over Buckner/Staksrud. Kovalova/Wright withdrew so Newman/Lange face Jansen-Rettenmaier after their win over Irvine/Devilliers. The winners of these matches then play for 5th.

9:10 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Koop/Johns vs Jones/Newman for Bronze on GS: Easy win for Jones/Newman in game 1. 11-2. Not much fight from Koop/Johns. But they got some fight in them during game 2 and reversal of fortune 11-2 for Koop/Johns. Game 3 also went Koop/Johns way. 11-3. They slowed the game down and drastically reduced their errors. Riley’s errors increased.

Backdraw: Bright/Ignatowich defeated Brascia/Frazier with James dominating the middle to take that 4th shot. Newman/Lange lost 16-14 to Jansen/Rettenmaier for 5th, who end up in 5th with another win over Anna and James.

9:30 pm EST – Another wild mixed day. Tyson and Lacy almost bow out in round 1 to Esquivel/Tellez and are now in the final after wins over Irvine/Devilliers, Bright/Ignatowich and Koop/Johns. Lacy Schneemann has a ton of pop and Tyson was playing big on those last two matches. It’s funny what some good fortune and confidence can do for a player as McGuffin is playing at an incredibly high level the past two events. They will play JW/Jorja, who will be an interesting matchup with their high quality hands and power. JW and Jorja blew through Allyce Jones but they won’t be able to do the same thing to Lacy Schneemann most likely. Conversely, a disappointing day for Ben Johns and Riley Newman as the supposed 2 best mixed players in pickleball do not make the finals with lesser partners than what they are used to. Tyson McGuffin. Still very relevant.

11:05 pm EST (Waggish) PPA: Bright/Ignatowich vs Jansen/Rettenmaier. 5th place goes to Jansen/Rettenmaier! 15-12. Disappointing for Anna and James after their recent gold and silver. But that is how MXD seems to go. Outside of ALW/Ben, no consistency.

17 thoughts on “PPA Tour Newport Beach Shootout and Minto US Open – Live Random Thoughts

  • April 21, 2023 at 12:37 pm
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    Is that Christian Alshon?

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    • April 21, 2023 at 1:36 pm
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      Thanks for catching my error. Corrected.

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  • April 21, 2023 at 1:24 pm
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    I thought I watched a lot of pickleball, but I don’t recall ever hearing about the pairing of Lenga Satuala and Flynn Orton … much less seeing that they were a #9 seed … did the brackets get their seeding wrong and they were actually a #24 going against #9 Megs/Christian?

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    • April 21, 2023 at 1:40 pm
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      #9 seed: looks like they filled in for E.Wright/Navratil who was originally at that spot. PPA doesn’t redo the brackets when a team withdraws.

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  • April 22, 2023 at 6:36 am
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    So Championship Saturday for Mixed?

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    • April 22, 2023 at 9:44 am
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      BigE: Correct. Gold Mixed was played last night and results are shown today on the main free CBS network channel — not CBSSN sports network channel that is usually premium on cable systems. To fill in Championship Sunday that will be missing Mixed and of course Singles, PPA will have Bronze and Gold for MD and WD.

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      • April 22, 2023 at 1:36 pm
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        I’m assuming the Mixed final was BO3 because it came at the end of the day instead of Championship Sunday, but why did they decide to mix up the format this way? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to keep all of the finals BO5 on Sunday and fill in the slots that would have gone to Singles with bronze matches or even pro-ams (or even just shortening the day)?

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        • April 22, 2023 at 2:36 pm
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          We don’t know but based on past history it could have been as a distraction from the US Open.

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        • April 22, 2023 at 4:18 pm
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          Yes it was best of 3. They mixed it up purely for TV and they wanted that final on CBS.

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  • April 22, 2023 at 2:54 pm
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    James Ignatowich continues to struggle to get decent results in men’s doubles. He has obvious upside, but, currently, he’s as likely to make an error as he is to hit a winner. He loves Newport, so this has been a tough weekend for him.

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    • April 22, 2023 at 4:19 pm
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      This is a time thing we think. His tools are there but he doesn’t look fully comfortable, and right now his confidence isn’t sky high over there. He’s struggling to get established at the kitchen line when returns are sent his way. The men’s doubles game is by far the hardest one to master for newer pros.

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  • April 23, 2023 at 6:13 am
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    Watched the Johns lose courtside. Collin got assaulted, got tight, pouted and rolled his eyes often, and both Newell and Locklear would not let them settle into their standard patterns. Was epic to witness actually.

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    • April 23, 2023 at 6:30 am
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      Did he get tagged a lot with the ball? That usually gets him on tilt. I watched the little I could see from the livestream view showing the court behind GS. He missed what looked like easy shots but Ben did also. Maybe at that point they had quit fighting for the win.

      Reply
  • April 24, 2023 at 5:02 am
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    Seemed like an unusually high error rate in the MD gold match.

    Still, some amazing stuff from Team Youth, 3 straight games over Matt/Riley? Wow. Watch out, Johns brothers, here’s the new challengers to the throne.

    Speaking of top level men’s doubles players, Pablo Tellez continues to impress. I think he deserves an upgrade in his men’s doubles partner, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear he is getting plenty of offers from some of the best men’s doubles players in the game.

    Reply
    • April 24, 2023 at 12:00 pm
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      We’ll have to see. Pablo is great friends with Federico and there is something to be said to sticking with and growing with a player. Staksrud is probably underrated. Look at JW. He probably has had tons of offers from players to partner but he has stuck with Dylan and is now getting rewarded. Stak may not have Frazier’s upside but there was a time where Frazier’s upside also looked fairly limited.

      Reply

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