A Look at the PPA Tour Points Race and Who Has Work Left to Do the Rest of the Way

Originally, the PPA Tour was to have 24 tour stops before the CIBC Finals in December.

Last month, the PPA announced a few changes to the latter half of the 2024 schedule, including the cancellation of the Denver Open.

With that being said, the tour will now have 23 stops this year before the CIBC Finals. As a reminder, the top eight teams make the CIBC Finals in December in San Clemente.

• Top 8 women’s singles players
• Top 8 men’s singles players
• Top 16 women’s doubles players
• Top 16 men’s doubles players
• Top 8 women in mixed doubles
• Top 8 men in mixed doubles

Need a refresher on how the PPA Points system works? We've got you covered.

Here are the number of points available, depending on the level of the tournament:

With 11 events remaining on the PPA Tour this year, another 14,500 points are up for grabs, so a lot of people are still in the running to make the CIBC Finals.

Women’s Singles

Locks: Anna Leigh Waters, Lea Jansen, Catherine Parenteau

Near locks: Mary Brascia, Brooke Buckner, Parris Todd

Underdog who has the best chance of making the finals: Jorja Johnson

Analysis: Anna Leigh is going to finish first, barring some sort of disaster. The locks and ‘near locks’ make up six of the eight spots. So really, Salome Devidze, Kaitlyn Christian, Lina Padegimaite, Judit Castillo, and Jorja Johnson are fighting for two spots.

Devidze isn’t in my ‘near locks’ because she doesn’t play as many tournaments as the other players, but she doesn’t really have bad finishes either. The 2,000-point gap that Jorja Johnson has to make up in order to pass Kaitlyn Christian seems like too much, but maybe she can do it.

Predicted last two spots: Salome Devidze and Kaitlyn Christian. The top eight stay the top eight throughout the second half of 2024.

Men’s Singles

Locks: Federico Staksrud, Ben Johns

Near locks: Connor Garnett, Christian Alshon

Underdog who has the best chance of making the finals: JW Johnson

Analysis: Men’s singles is easily the most volatile event on the PPA Tour - anyone could win or make a deep run in any given week. The top four are consistently hitting the quarterfinals or better. Frazier, Sock, Duong, and Martinez Vich make up the last four in, while McGuffin is within 200 points. With his health issues and the volatility, it could be hard to make up those points.

Predicted last four spots: Dylan Frazier, Jack Sock, Quang Duong, Tyson McGuffin - McGuffin is able to catch JMV and get that last spot.

Women’s Doubles

Locks: ALW, Catherine Parenteau, Anna Bright, Rachel Rohrabacher, Etta Wright, Meghan Dizon, Callie Smith

Near locks: Lucy Kovalova, Vivienne David, Lea Jansen, Tina Pisnik, Hurricane Tyra Black, Lacy Schneemann

Analysis: Those top 13 are virtual locks, leaving three spots between seven people. The next closest players to Allyce Jones are the Brascia sisters, at 1,900 points. I don’t see them catching up the near 800 points necessary to catch Jade. Jade isn’t playing as many tournaments as everyone else, so there is a chance she drops from the top 16.

Predicted last three spots: Parris Todd, Jorja Johnson, Jade Kawamoto. Koop doesn’t play enough tournaments to catch up and I think the 400 points is too much for Jackie to make up.

Men’s Doubles

Locks: Collin Johns, Ben Johns, Dylan Frazier, JW Johnson, Federico Staksrud

Near locks: Dekel Bar, Tyson McGuffin, Matt Wright, Thomas Wilson, Pablo Tellez, Christian Alshon, Jaume Martinez Vich

Underdog who has the best chance of making the finals: James Ignatowich - he isn’t listed because he is No. 23 overall with 2,250 points.

Analysis: Daescu is still in his 60 day suspension – is he going to be able to hold off some of the other players once he gets back? With four spots up for grabs and 11 players within 1,000 points of the cut line, this is the toughest one to predict. Riley is for sure going to make it, especially if he continues playing with Gabe Tardio. Hayden will increase his lead if he continues partnering with Federico.  

Predicted last four spots: Andrei Daescu, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Riley Newman. Newman supplants Garnett for the last spot in the top 16.

Women’s Mixed Doubles

Locks: Anna Leigh Waters, Anna Bright, Vivienne David

Near locks: Jorja Johnson, Tina Pisnik, Etta Wright, Rachel Rohrabacher

Underdog who has the best chance of making the finals: Hurricane Tyra Black

Analysis: There is a big drop off from 7th place to 8th. The top eight players have consistent partners they usually play with. With only one spot really up for grabs, there are eight players within 1,000 points of that spot. Can Catherine turn things around with Sock? Can Hurricane Tyra Black get some better results with Dylan Frazier?

Predicted last spot: Lea Jansen - Her and Hayden Patriquin are playing too well to drop off.

Men’s Mixed Doubles

Locks: Ben Johns, Thomas Wilson, James Ignatowich

Near locks: JW Johnson, Federico Staksrud, Dekel Bar

Underdog who has the best chance of making the finals: Riley Newman and Dylan Frazier - they are both tied for 18th place with 1,200 points, but Riley is playing regularly again and Dylan is playing great with HTB.

Analysis: Similar to the women’s side, there is a big drop off from 6th place to 7th place. Eight players are within 1,000 points of the last two spots. Alshon has missed a few tournaments, so hopefully he comes back soon. Daescu will continue dropping on this list due to his suspension. Sock hasn’t really put together any mixed doubles results to suggest he can move up the list.

Predicted last two spots: Christian Alshon and Tyson McGuffin - Alshon overtakes “Big H” for the last spot.