A Unique Format Should Lead to Plenty of Surprises at the APP New York City Open

The second of four majors on the APP Tour is taking place this weekend at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.

Event Schedule

• Thursday, 5/23 - Men’s and Women’s Singles
• Friday, 5/24 - Mixed Doubles
• Saturday, 5/25 - Men’s and Women’s Doubles
• Sunday, 5/26 - NYC Shuffle - explained below

Note: There is no Championship Sunday at this event – championships will take place at the end of the day of each event. Instead there will be what the APP is calling the "APP NYC Shuffle."

The NYC Shuffle is an interesting concept: 32 players (16 men and 16 women) will play gender doubles. Players will be divided into four groups of four by gender.

From there, they will play round-robin games against each other, changing partners each game. After the round robin, there will be a knockout round and eventually a championship. The players are competing for a prize pool of $75,000. A new form of pro pickleball sounds very interesting - make sure to tune in on Sunday.

How to Watch the APP NYC Open

• Friday, Saturday, Sunday - APPTV on YouTube (Times TBD)
• Friday, 5/24 - 6-8pm EST - CBS Sports Network
• Saturday, 5/25 - 7-9pm EST - FS1
• Sunday, 5/26 - 2:30-4:30pm EST - FS1

Weather forecast

The weather looks to be a serious problem throughout the event, with rain expected on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. While the tennis center has 22 outdoor tennis courts, there are 12 indoor tennis courts at the adjacent Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

I would bet the APP will have to play most matches on temporary courts at the indoor venue.

Women’s Singles

Top Seeds

• Megan Fudge
• Judit Castillo
• Jessica Warren
• Amanda Hendry

Players to Watch

• No. 8 seed Bobbi Oshiro doesn’t play much singles, but when she does, she is good. This year, she has only played twice, finishing third and fourth. Expect a deep run.
• No. 9 seed Simone Jardim just won gold at the APP Cincinnati. The 44-year old is defying age and playing great right now.
• No. 13 seed Yana Newell is back into the swing of things – her ceiling is extremely high in singles and I could see her making a deep run on Thursday.

Prediction: Judit Castillo defeats Megan Fudge in the finals for her third APP Tour singles gold in 2024.

Men’s Singles

Top Seeds

• Chris Haworth - Didn’t play in Cincinnati, but won APP Delray Beach
• Jack Foster 
• Ryler DeHeart
• William Sobek

Players to Watch

• No. 6 seed Grayson Goldin is coming off a win at the APP Cincinnati - can he find magic in back-to-back tournaments?
• No. 8 seed Will Howells is an extremely good singles player. Splitting time between MLP/PPA and the APP Tour just means he hasn’t built up enough APP Points to be seeded higher.
• Pro Qualifier Jayden Broderick just finished in 10th place at the APP Cincinnati and also has another top 15 finish on the APP Tour this year. I expect him to make it through the qualifiers and may upset a couple of players in NYC.

Prediction: Will Howells beats Grayson Goldin for his second gold medal in singles on the APP Tour in 2024.

Mixed Doubles

Top Seeds

• Susannah Barr/Rob Nunnery
• Jill Braverman/Andrei Daescu
• Megan Fudge/Jack Munro
• Allison Harris/Andre Mick

Players to Watch

• No. 8 seed Yana Newell and Brendon Long just finished in second place in Cincinnati and could make a deep run again.
• No. 14 seed Brandon Lane and Christa Gecheva could register some big upsets - Lane is coming off a gold medal with Barr at the APP Cincinnati Open.

Prediction: Will Howells and Bobbi Oshiro beat Jill Braverman and Andrei Daescu for Will’s second gold medal at the event.

Women’s Doubles

Top Seeds

• Allison Harris/Simone Jardim - This duo is coming off a gold medal in Cincinnati - can they make it two in a row?
• Susannah Barr/Mari Humberg
• Megan Fudge/Yana Newell
• Bobbi Oshiro/Rianna Valdez

Players to Watch

Kaitlyn Kerr/Kim Clijsters - Yes, THAT Kim Clijsters. Tennis fans know her, but here is a quick rundown of some career accomplishments:

• Became the first Belgian-born tennis player to reach No. 1 in the world rankings – she became the top-ranked player in both singles and doubles in August of 2003
• Six majors titles - four in singles and two in doubles

Kaitlyn is known as the Pickleball Chick on Instagram. She is an owner of the Las Vegas Night Owls and is extremely involved in MLP. I hope to see this duo on the livestream.

Be on the lookout for Amanda Hendry and Kelsey Grambeau. The lefty/righty combo earned a bronze medal in Cincinnati - can they follow that up with another deep run in NYC?

Prediction: Megan Fudge and Yana Newell defeat Allison Harris and Simone Jardim for the gold medal.

Men’s Doubles

Top Seeds

• Richard Livornese Jr./Rob Nunnery
• Andrei Daescu/Jack Munro
• Stefan Auvergne/Brendon Long
• Will Howells/CJ Klinger

Players to Watch

• No. 6 seed Ryler DeHeart/Eric Oncins are going to be making their debut together. DeHeart is fiery and plays a very offensive game and Oncins seems to be all over the court. They will be a fun duo to watch.
• No. 8 seed Jayden Broderick/Brandon Lane are coming off a fourth place finish at the APP Cincinnati.

Prediction: Andrei Daescu and Jack Munro defeat Will Howells and CJ Klinger for gold