Busy August Schedule Presents Opportunities at This Week's PPA Utah Open

Next up on the busy schedule for the PPA Tour is the PPA Picklr Utah Open which gets underway Wednesday in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Although the title sponsor of the event is The Picklr, the event is actually taking place at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The indoor event is the third of four straight weeks of play for the PPA Tour.

How to Watch the PPA Utah Open

Thursday, August 8th - Singles

• Championship Court - 1 - 9pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court - 1 - 7pm ET - PPA YouTube

Friday, August 9th - Mixed Doubles

• Championship Court - 1 - 9pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court - 1 - 7pm ET - PPA YouTube

Saturday, August 10th - Gender Doubles

• Championship Court - 1 - 9pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court - 1 - 7pm ET - PPA YouTube

Sunday, August 11th - Championship Sunday

• Championship Court - 1 - 7pm ET - PickleballTV
• Championship Court - 2 - 7pm ET - Tennis Channel

NOTE - these are concurrent, you can watch on PBTV or Tennis Channel

• Grandstand Court (Bronze Medal Matches) - Noon - 4pm ET - PPA YouTube

Notable players not playing this week

Because this is a very busy time of the season for players, some have opted to take the Utah Open off to rest. The list includes:

• Ben Johns
• Anna Leigh Waters
• Catherine Parenteau
• Christian Alshon
• Brooke Buckner
• Jay Devilliers
• Quang Duong

Draws and storylines

Women’s singles

Top storylines

• No ALW, CP, or Buckner this week – this field is WIDE OPEN.
• Kate Fahey, who has been playing out of qualifiers the past two tournaments, has finally been seeded and is a dangerous No. 14 seed.
• (5) Parris Todd and (3) Mary Brascia are back after taking an extended PPA break – look for both of them to be fresh.

Players to watch

• Christine Maddox (13) – She brings a ton of reach and athleticism and will be a very tough matchup for Allyce Jones (18). If she wins that she has to beat the red-hot Kaitlyn Christian in the Round of 16.

• Alex Walker (25) – We usually only see Angie play singles. It’s nice to see Alex get into the mix, but she has a tough early-round task against Liz Truluck.
• The women’s singles qualifiers is STACKED in Utah: Averee Beck (Utah Tech), Dodo Kong (Utah Valley), Christa Gecheva (just picked up by the Florida Smash in MLP), Madalina Grigoriu, and Jalina Ingram (youngster out of Phoenix to look out for) are all in qualifiers.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: Judit Castillo (6), Kate Fahey (14), Parris Todd (5), Kaitlyn Christian (4)
• Finals: Kaitlyn Christian gets revenge on Judit Castillo from PPA Austin and earns herself her first gold medal.

Men’s singles

Top storylines

• Federico Staksrud doesn’t skip anything. Ever. Without Ben at this event, it is his to lose.
• It’s been a while since Pablo Tellez (8) won a medal on the PPA Tour in singles. He has to go up against Fed – his former partner and friend – in the quarterfinals.
• The potential Tyson McGuffin (3) vs. Jack Sock (6) matchup in the quarterfinals will be exciting stuff to watch.

Players to watch

• JW Johnson (17) – I believe JW is the No. 9 seed (typo in the graphic). He has a fairly easy path to the quarterfinals, unless Naveen Beasley gets hot.
• Grayson Goldin (34) – He has FINALLY started in the main draw! His prize? Michael Loyd in the first round and if he wins that? Jack Sock in the second round. If anyone can do it, it’s Goldin.

Top qualifiers to watch

• Frank Anthony Davis
• Tanner Tomassi
• Rio Newcombe
• Farzin Amiri
• Patrick Kawka

Predictions

• Semifinalists: Federico Staksrud (1), Chris Haworth (5), Connor Garnett (2), Tyson McGuffin (3)
• Finals: Haworth takes down McGuffin for his second gold on the year.

Mixed Doubles

Top storylines

• James Ignatowich and Anna Bright are playing as the No. 1 seed for the first time in a while.
• We haven’t seen the No. 12 seed – Matt Wright/Lucy Kovalova – for a while. They will likely play Tyler Loong/Kaitlyn Christian (20) in their first matchup.
• Riley Newman (7) has also taken some time off and is playing with Callie Jo Smith – they should have a home-field advantage with Smith hailing from Utah.

Partnerships to watch

• Jack Sock/Jackie Kawamoto (14) are pairing up for the first time. They are NY Hustlers teammates but haven't played mixed doubles together since the first event. If Jack gets hot, they can be a team to look out for.
• According to the man himself, Jaume Martinez Vich has learned how to play mixed doubles. He is paired with Mary Brascia as the No. 23 seed.

Predictions

• Quarterfinals: Hayden Patriquin/Lea Jansen (8), Rachel Rohrabacher/Federico Staksrud (5), Jorja & JW Johnson (2), Tina Pisnik/Dekel Bar (4)
• Finals: Jorja and JW Johnson beat Hayden Patriquin and Lea Jansen in the finals in four games.

Women’s Doubles

Top storylines

• With no ALW/CP, the field is wide open here and it’s anyone’s to win.
• Zoey Yi Wang and Judit Castillo (12) are teammates on the Las Vegas Night Owls and are teamed up together here.

• Etta Wright and Meghan Dizon (2) used to be thought of as one of the top 2-3 women’s doubles teams, but they haven’t had results lately on the PPA Tour. Can they turn their luck around in Utah?

Partnerships to watch

• Kate Fahey and Alix Truong (20) are partnering up for the first time. I don’t expect a ton of dinking for this duo – they are going to bring the heat.
• The Brascia sisters (10) are back and will have a very interesting second round matchup against the Orlando Squeeze women – Viv David and Parris Todd.

Predictions

• Quarterfinals: Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright (1), Jackie Kawamoto/Lucy Kovalova (4), Etta Wright/Meghan Dizon (2), Lea Jansen/Tina Pisnik (6)
• Finals: Rohrabacher and Bright beat Lea and Tina in the final for their fifth gold title this year.

Men’s Doubles

Top storylines

• JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier (1) were upset last week in the Round of 16. Can they get back on track in Utah?
• No Ben Johns? No problem. Dekel Bar and Collin Johns (2) are playing together.
• Gabe Tardio and Andrei Daescu (8) are paired up again. The last time they teamed up in Utah? They got a silver medal at the Red Rock Open.
• Connor Garnett/Tyler Loong (7) are going to have the hometown crowd behind them. Can the Black Diamonds men make a deep run in Utah?

Partnerships to watch

• (6) Augie Ge and Fed Staksrud are teaming up for the first time and could be an exciting duo to watch.
• Riley Newman is playing with Brandon French (9) – this could be the chirpiest and most volatile team in the tournament. It feels like they will either go far or flame out quickly.

Predictions

• Quarterfinals: JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier (1), Tyson McGuffin/Jaume Martinez Vich (4), Augie Ge/Federico Staksrud (6), Connor Garnett/Tyler Loong (7)
• Finals: JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier beat Connor Garnett and Tyler Loong.