Illness, New Partnerships, Surprise #1s – PPA Lakeville Indoor National Championships Recap

Frigid temperatures dominated the week in Lakeville, Minnesota. Temperatures got down to -20 at times during the week, and multiple players got sick, despite playing indoors at the Life Time Lakeville Minneapolis.

There was plenty of drama from the second tournament of 2026 – let’s get into the action.

Top Storylines

Parris Todd wins gold in singles, silver in doubles, and bronze in mixed and retires from singles… kind of?

As you may recall, Parris Todd was suspended for one PPA Tour event, one MLP event, and fined $50,000 for a trip in late 2025 to Japan with some other (then) signed pros.

The Masters was the event where Parris was suspended. So her first event back on the PPA Tour in 2026 was the Indoor National Championships. And what did she do? Earned a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal.

The bronze was earned in mixed doubles with Andrei Daescu, after falling to eventual winners Alshon and Black in the semis. Gabe and Catherine withdrew from mixed bronze due to Gabe’s illness, so Parris and Andrei won bronze.

In women’s doubles, Parris and Tyra took a game off AB and ALW, not an easy feat. When Tyra and Parris are cooking, they could definitely take out the number one seeds.

Parris took gold in singles, but she almost didn’t even make it to Championship Sunday. In the quarters, Catherine Parenteau gave her a run, and Parris won that one 11-9 in the third game. She followed that up with a semifinal win over Kaitlyn Christian, 11-8, in the third, in the semis.

In the finals, Parris beat Lea Jansen, 11-5, 11-5, Todd is still the #6 ranked woman in singles, but still made an announcement about her singles game after her semifinal win:

So she didn’t full announce a retirement, but it is clear Parris Todd will not playing nearly as many singles events moving forward.

Christian Alshon and Tyra Black win gold for their first time ever (and last time)

Despite being the number two seed at this event, both Christian and Tyra had never won a mixed doubles gold medal before. That statement doesn’t include the word together. Separate, together, never. This was the first gold medal in mixed doubles both Tyra and Christian earned. And probably the last.

Let's talk about the win first, and where they go from here.

As the two seed, Tyra and Christian really got pushed by Eric Oncins and       Meghan Dizon in the quarters, winning 11-9 in the third. They handled Parris and Andrei easily in the semis, 11-8, 11-2.

Headed into the finals, Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin were the favorites, having won multiple golds together. However, Christian Alshon played like a man possessed, and they won in three – 11,8, 11-9, 11-6.

When I say a man possessed, I mean it. I would estimate Alshon took over about 75% of the court, and that may be underestimating it. Bright and Patriquin just couldn’t find an answer for it, and Tyra and Christian earned their first gold.

Throughout the broadcast, it was mentioned that this would be Tyra and Christian’s last tournament together for the foreseeable future. I believe Christian will play a couple with Rohrabacher (with Will out due to injury) and then switch to a more permanent mixed doubles partner. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tyra finds a lefty as her regular mixed partner, with CJ Klinger being the front runner for the spot, in my opinion.

Hunter Johnson won gold as the #1 seed

Many pundits have been saying it, including myself. Chris Haworth is going to be the number one seed in men’s singles by the PPA Finals in May. Hunter Johnson has something to say about that.

Johnson is the current #1 seed, but hasn’t won on tour in over six months. In fact, June 22, 2025 at the Select Medical Orange County Cup was the last time Johnson won gold on the PPA Tour.

A look at the current top 6 ranked singles players, courtesy of the PPA Tour

What made this gold run even more impressive was the fact that just a week ago, Hunter had to retire in the second game of his bronze medal match at The Masters against Roscoe Bellamy. I called that match and Hunter was in obvious pain and hobbling on his right knee. To bounce back one week later and win the Indoor Championships is nothing short of miraculous.

Prior to the finals, the series between Hunter and Chris was tied 3-3. Johnson played lights out and Haworth looked like he may have become sick as well. Hunter was abole to come away with the victory, 11-6, 11-0. This win moved the rivalry to 4-3 in Hunter’s favor. I am sure we will see plenty more from these top competitors moving forward.

Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters dominated the competition in women’s doubles

While Anna Bright was fighting for two golds this weekend, Anna Leigh had a light week (relatively speaking) with only one event on the docket.

Bright and Waters rolled through the competition in Minnesota, with a combined score of 66-11 in their first three rounds of matchups, including the semifinals. That is an average scoreline of 11-1.9.

In the finals, they cruised to an 11-1 victory in game one against Tyra and Parris and the match looked over. However, Tyra and Parris regained momentum, winning game two, 11-6. Game three and four were all AB and ALW – winning 11-3, 11-5.

Despite the two losses last year in August, Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters are the clear cut number one seed in women’s doubles - they have not lost in over five months together.

Gabe Tardio and Andrei Daescu gutted out a tough men’s doubles gold

I have talked about this on multiple podcast episodes – the players who can win despite not having their best stuff are the best of the best.

Andrei Daescu and Gabe Tardio did not have their best stuff this week. Gabe was very obviously ill for the majority of the week and Daescu is nursing a sore knee.

The duo used some…. questionable… medical timeouts in their semifinal win over Federico Staksrud and CJ Klinger, winning 11-7 in game three.

In the finals, it was obvious that Gabe was still ill and Andrei was dealing with a bad knee. They lost game one 1-11, and looked like they were about to be routed. Instead, they won game two, 14-12. In game three, they lost another nail-biter, 10-12. Games four and five went their way, winning 11-8, 12-10.

We already have had multiple candidates for match of the year, despite only being two events into the 2026 year. The men’s doubles final match is probably going to finish the year in the top five. If you can only watch one of these matches back, I highly recommend this one.

Other Storylines 

This was the first time in over a year someone did not at least double crown. The last time it happened, was December 22, 2024 at the Daytona Beach Open.

Sickness and injury played a huge role this weekend.

Plenty of players were visibly sick during play, including Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Chris Haworth, Rachel Rohrabacher, and more. In addition to sickness, injuries played a huge part.

Will Howells stepped on his own paddle in singles against Cason Campbell and could not walk off under his own power. Since then it has been revealed to be a left ankle sprain, and Howells is on the road to recovery.

A wild outcome from a paddle throw in men’s doubles

This will get reviewed on every pro pickleball podcast this week. To set the stage:

Julian Arnold and Martin Emmrich played Tyler Loong and Brandon French in the round of 32. After losing game two, Julian threw his paddle down in frustration and it took a crazy bounce into the stands, but did not hit anyone. Loong argued the act should result in disqualification.

The ref said they would play game three and then review for disqualification. So they played game three and Julian and Martin won. But afterward there were more appeals.

The result? Julian and Martin were DQ'd after the match, when the head referee was able to view the act. However, since Tyler and Brandon lost the match that was played, they were not allowed to move on to the Rd of 16. Tyson McGuffin and Max Freeman were able to get a free pass straight to the quarters.

Full Results

Women’s Singles

🥇 Parris Todd

🥈 Lea Jansen

🥉 Kaitlyn Christian

Men’s Singles

🥇 Hunter Johnson

🥈 Chris Haworth

🥉 Roscoe Bellamy

Mixed Doubles

🥇 Hurricane Tyra Black/Christian Alshon

🥈 Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin

🥉 Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu

Women’s Doubles

🥇 Anna Bright/Anna Leigh Waters

🥈 Parris Todd/Hurricane Tyra Black

🥉 Meghan Dizon/Lacy Schneemann

Men’s Doubles

🥇 Christian Alshon/Hayden Patriquin

🥈 Gabe Tardio/Andrei Daescu

🥉 Dylan Frazier/Eric Oncins