Less-Than-Full Field at the PPA LA Open Opens the Door For New Faces

The PPA LA Open is taking place this weekend at the Los Cab Sports Village in Fountain Valley, California. This is the third tournament in a row in the month of April, with the busy month wrapping up next week in Utah. 

This is an Open level tournament, meaning winners will earn 1,000 PPA Points. Because it is during such a busy month of pro pickleball, many players are taking this one off, making for some new and fun matchups.

How to Watch

All times are ET

Thursday, April 18th - Singles

• 2-10pm - Championship Court - PickleballTV/Prime Video
• 2-8pm - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube 

Friday, April 19th - Mixed Doubles

• 2-10pm - Championship Court - PickleballTV/Prime Video
• 2-8pm - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube 

Saturday, April 20th - Gender Doubles

• 2-10pm - Championship Court - PickleballTV/Prime Video
• 2-6pm - Championships Court - Tennis Channel
• 2-8pm - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube 

Sunday, April 21st - Championship Sunday

• 2-10pm - Championship Court - PickleballTV/Prime Video
• 2-6pm - Championships Court - Tennis Channel
• 2-8pm - Bronze Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube 

Players who are not participating

• Anna Leigh Waters
• Catherine Parenteau
• Riley Newman
• Callie Smith
• James Ignatowich - Still nursing his injured shoulder

Players not playing due to playing in the Minto US Open Championships

• Anna Leigh Waters
• Andrei Daescu
• Gabe Tardio
• Jorja Johnson
• JW Johnson 
• Dylan Frazier
• Will Howells
• Parris Todd
• Hunter Johnson
• Yates Johnson

Women’s Singles

Storylines

• Can Mary Brascia make up for early-round loss as the No. 1 seed in Houston? She is in her home state near her home courts.
• Genie Bouchard is in the draw as the No. 13 seed and if she wins her first match, she could possibly play Lea Jansen, where we can see how much better she is getting.
• Lindsey Newman is playing women’s singles as the No. 33 seed – I don’t remember the last time I saw her play singles.
• No. 18 seed Pierina Imparato, if she wins her first-round matchup, will play her women’s doubles partner – Liz Truluck – in the second round.

Players to Watch

• (21) Christine Maddox still has to play in the first round. If she wins, she gets a tough draw against (10) Jamie Haas, but hopefully Maddox can get some more points to earn some first-round byes moving forward.
• (20) Emelia Schmidt is an Australian player with some serious game – I could see her making a little run in LA.
• (30) Jalina Ingram is a teenager out of Phoenix to keep an eye on. If she's able to win her first-round match she will have a tough test against Kaitlyn Christian.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (8) Kaitlyn Christian, (21) Christine Maddox, (2) Lea Jansen, and (5) Brooke Buckner
• Gold: Lea Jansen beats Kaitlyn Christian for her second straight gold medal on the PPA Tour

Men’s Singles

Storylines

• Tyson McGuffin is back as the No. 4 seed. Hopefully he is 100 percent healthy, as he is coming off of a plantar fascia injury.
• No. 8 seed Quang Duong got a tough draw, potentially facing the No. 10 seed, Collin Shick and then the No. 2 seed, Federico Staksrud.
• No. 48 seed Augie Ge is in the men’s singles draw for the first time that I can remember - he’s got a ridiculously difficult task against under-seeded No. 25 Ivan Jakovlejic.
• No. 9 seed Gabe Joseph is back near where he lives and where he plays in SoCal. Can't hurt to have some home cooking.

Players to Watch

• (29) Donald Young made a huge run at PPA Houston – can he back it up with another deep run?
• (25) Blaine Hovenier is a recent UPA-signed player and went to UCLA for tennis. He is comfortable in SoCal and is facing a very up-and-down Pablo Tellez in the second round.

Predictions

• I don’t think Ben Johns wins back-to-back tournaments in singles – Big H beats him in the Round of 16.
• Semifinalists: (11) Aanik Lohani, (9) Gabe Joseph, (2) Federico Staksrud, and (10) Collin Shick
• Gold: Federico gets another gold medal and beats Gabe Joseph in the final.

Women’s Doubles

Click here for the complete Women's Doubles draw

Storylines

• Nicknamed "The Girlies," Rohrabacher and Bright are again the No. 1 seed without ALW and CP – can they get another gold medal together?
• Alert! We have a Vivian Glozman sighting! She is teaming up with Lacy Schneeman as the No. 6 seed.
• Lea Jansen and Lucy Kovalova – the No. 3 seed – are a fun new pairing. Both playing well right now.
• New SoCal Hard 8s teammates – Irina Tereschenko and Christine Maddox – are teaming up as the No. 10 seed.

Predictions

• Quarterfinalists: (1) Rohrabacher/Bright, (8) Brascia/Brascia, (2) Dizon/Wright, and (6) Schneemann/Glozman
• Gold: Rohrabacher and Bright beat Dizon and Wright in the final to win their second-straight gold medal.

Men’s Doubles

Click here for the complete Men's Doubles draw

Storylines

• (2) Thomas Wilson and Matt Wright are partnered up for the first time and could be a threat with Wilson’s power and Wright’s hands.
• (9) Tyson McGuffin and Jaume Martinez Vich are paired up for the first time, even though they train together somewhat regularly.
• (6) Tyler Loong and DJ Young are paired together for the first time in a while - they are both playing at a high level as of late.

Players to Watch

• (30) Jeff Warnick and Erik Pailet have the talent to make some sort of run. Warnick, one of the best smack talkers in pickleball hasn’t been seen on the tour as much this year.
• (17) Roscoe Bellamy and Todd Fought are playing together for the first time and could be a formidable team – look for some upsets here.
• (11) Rafa Hewitt and Patrick Kawka are together for the first time and they won’t be dinking too much – Hewitt’s two-handed backhand drive is great and Kawka hits his forehand drive as hard as any other player on tour.

Predictions

• Quarterfinals: (1) Johns/Johns, (11) Hewitt/Kawka, (8) Dawson/Patriquin, and (6) Loong/Young
• Gold: The Johns brothers make quick work of Callan Dawson and Hayden Patriquin in the gold medal match.

Mixed Doubles

Click here for the complete Mixed Doubles draw

Storylines

• Without James Ignatowich and Anna Leigh, Ben Johns and Anna Bright are playing together and are the No. 1 seed.
• (14) Hurricane Tyra Black and Augie Ge are teaming up again after a great run at PPA Desert Ridge. The new MLP teammates are also looking to gel more before MLP Atlanta in May.
• (32) Former tennis stars Genie Bouchard and Sam Querrey are paired up for the first time.
• (8) Collin Johns is paired with Tina Pisnik – this seems like a partnership that could go really far with the best defense in the game and Johns brings more firepower than he is given credit for.

Players to Watch

• (20) Brooke Buckner and Collin Shick are good friends in North Carolina and could easily notch a couple of upset victories.
• (19) Kaitlyn Christian and Pat Smith is a new partnership and could be very good together.
• (24) Jill Braverman and Martin Emmrich are severely under-seeded and could make a run.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Bright/Johns, (8) Pisnik/Johns, (6) Rohrabacher/Staksrud, and (3) Dizon/McGuffin
• Gold: Bright and Johns beat Rohrabacher and Fed for gold.