Fanatics Sportsbook PPA North Carolina Cup Preview and Predictions

The PPA Tour is back in action this weekend in Cary, North Carolina, at the Cary Tennis Park. This is a Cup event, meaning it is worth more in PPA Points (1,500) and it is a Progressive Draw. 

This is the start of a brutal PPA Tour schedule for the players in April. This weekend is in North Carolina, next weekend is in Houston, the following weekend is in California at Los Cab, and then the last weekend is in St. George, Utah. 

Here is the weather for the tournament – Wednesday is not looking great, but the rest of the week should be fine:

How to Watch

Men's Doubles

• The Johns brothers haven’t medaled since winning PPA Desert Ridge, back in very early February - but they are still the No. 1 seed.
• James Ignatowich is back from his shoulder injury – Paired with Matt Wright, they are the No. 2 seed.
• Tyler Hansbrough is in the draw - yes THAT Tyler Hansbrough. He has played some tournaments before at a lower level, so we will see if he has been practicing enough to play with the top guys.

Sleepers

• No. 11 seed – Rafa Hewitt and Patrick Kawka – Hewitt hasn’t had the best results in 2024 and Kawka is playing great right now. I don’t think we will see many drops or dinks from this team.
• No. 27 seed – Hunter and Yates Johnson – The new PPA signees are going to be high seeds for a while until they can consistently get results on the PPA Tour. Talent-wise, they are more like a No. 10-12 seed.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Ben and Collin Johns, (6) Pat Smith and Jay Devilliers, (3) Federico Staksrud and Pablo Tellez, (27) Hunter and Yates Johnson
• Gold: Ben and Collin beat Fed and Pablo in the gold medal match to get their first gold in two months.

Women's Doubles

• Catherine Parenteau and Anna Leigh Waters are coming off their first ever loss – how do they bounce back?
• Jade Kawamoto is not playing in this tournament – so Jackie is playing with Lucy Kovalova and Callie Smith is playing with Lea Jansen.

Sleepers

• No. 13 seed - Alix Truong and Tammy Emmrich – Truong is a recent PPA signing and brings a ton of power with her – this pairing could make a run.
• No. 21 seed – Kaitlyn Christian and Helena Jansen – I had to do some googling in order to figure out who Christian’s partner is. Turns out she was a star tennis player last year at Appalachian State and is local to North Carolina - maybe this duo could make a sneaky run.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau, (2) Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher, (3) Meghan Dizon and Etta Wright, (9) Parris Todd and Hurricane Tyra Black
• Gold: ALW and CP aren’t losing two in a row. They beat Bright and Rohrabacher in four games.

Mixed Doubles

• Tyson McGuffin is back after a plantar fascia injury and is playing with Meghan Dizon. They are the No. 4 seed
• Speaking of injuries, James Ignatowich is also back playing with Anna Bright - he has to start getting some wins – now that Andrei Daescu showed him how to do it!
• ALW and Ben Johns are coming off their first gold medal loss in 30 tries – will they bounce back?

Sleepers

• No. 18 seed - Pablo Tellez and Lacy Schneemann - This is a first-time pairing. Schneemann has a high ceiling but hasn’t had the results she would like yet in 2024 – maybe North Carolina changes that up.
• No. 26 seed – Emilia Schmidt and Callan Dawson – If Schmidt can get past some jet lag, this duo may do some damage. I just watched her in the PPA Australia last weekend and now she is playing in a PPA tournament in North Carolina.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: UPSETS GALORE! (1) Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns, (9) Lea Jansen and Hayden Patriquin, (6) Jack Sock and Catherine Parenteau, and (8) Dylan Frazier and Hurricane Tyra Black
• Gold: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Lea Jansen and Hayden Patriquin in the finals

Men's Singles

• Ben Johns got his second gold of the year in Austin, can he make it three in North Carolina?
• James Ignatowich is playing singles. Yes, you read this correctly. His shoulder must really be feeling better.
• No more easy matches – the days of a couple of warm up rounds are over. 

Sleepers

• No. 37 seed – James Ignatowich is not a real No. 37 seed. If he played singles regularly, he would easily be a top 15 seed.
• No. 30 seed – Phuc Huynh is extremely good – he trains with Jaume Martinez Vich and took Ben Johns to three games recently – look for a run from him.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Ben Johns, (2) Federico Staksrud, (6) Jaume Martinez Vich, and (5) Christian Alshon
• Gold: Alshon beats Ben Johns to make it to the finals, but loses to Federico Staksrud, who wins gold.

Women's Singles

• We love the Progressive Draws because we get to see Lea Jansen in singles – she is the No. 4 seed.
• Anna Leigh pulled out of singles in Austin, but she is playing in North Carolina – the Progressive Draw should help any ailments she has.
• Domi Schaefer and Genie Bouchard are playing women’s doubles together, but they face off in the first round of singles against each other.

Sleepers

• No. 37 seed – Alix Truong – she just needs more time on the PPA Tour, but Lina Padegimaite is going to have her hands full with Truong.
• No. 33 seed – Helena Jansen – I already mentioned her, but I have never seen her play – I really hope she gets a televised match.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh, (2) Catherine Parenteau, (11) Kaitlyn Christian, and (4) Lea Jansen
• Gold: Anna Leigh beats Catherine in the finals