Gabriel Tardio Listened to His Mom and Ended Up with Two PPA Gold Medals

Some pros meditate before big matches. Others hit the film room or lock into their pre-match playlist. Gabriel Tardio? He just listens to his mom.

And good thing he did.

Tardio wasn't planning to play singles at the PPA Veolia North Carolina Open, but after some encouragement from his mother to compete in all three events, he threw his name in the bracket.

Fast forward to Championship Sunday—he’s leaving with two gold medals, including one in Men’s Singles.

You can’t make this up.

To get there, Tardio had to take out the #1 seed Federico Staksrud in the semifinals, a three-game battle that ended 4-11, 13-11, 11-7.

And in the final? He faced off against Roscoe Bellamy, who was making his first career PPA singles final appearance.

Tardio handled business with a clean 11-9, 11-5 win, capping off an unlikely singles run with a top-of-the-podium finish.

But he wasn’t done. Tardio also picked up a second gold in Men’s Doubles, partnering with none other than Ben Johns.

Not a bad resume-builder for the weekend.

Tardio’s Sunday sweep came in a field packed with talent, which makes it even more impressive that the only reason he even entered singles was because his mom told him to.

We’ll say it again: Gabriel Tardio didn’t want to play singles. His mom made him. And now he’s a PPA champion.

Take note, pros—your mom might just be the key to gold.

Just ask Anna Leigh Waters.

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