Megan Fudge and a New Format Steal the Show at the APP New York City Open

The APP Tour stopped at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens for the 2024 Zimmer Biomet APP New York City Open this past weekend. This was the second of four majors in 2024 on the APP Tour.

The last two majors will take place in early July for the Newport Beach Open and in December at the APP Fort Lauderdale.

Top Storylines from the Weekend

The APP New York City Pro Shuffle was a Massive Success

The APP put on a brand new fun event on Sunday. A total of 16 men and 16 women were placed into four pods of four in gender doubles. Each pod had a round robin style event, with the two winners advancing on to the next round.

Every player played with and against every other player, with three games to 21 and rally scoring deciding the winners of each pod. 

The Women’s Shuffle came down to the wire, with the last game determining the winner. Megan Fudge was able to outlast Susannah Barr, Jill Braverman, and Christa Gecheva.

The Men’s Shuffle was even crazier, as it was still tied after three tiebreakers - point differential, points won in the finals, overall points won throughout the day. It came down to a quick tiebreaker match to five points that had to move over to FS2 from FS1 due to time constraints.

This was a really fun event for Sunday and it was exciting for fans to see different partnerships and matchups that they wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Click here for the entire results from the Pro Shuffle.

The Megan Fudge Show

Megan Fudge won two gold medals and the Inaugural Women’s Pro Shuffle. 

Fudge started off the weekend with a gold medal in women’s singles, beating Mari Humber and then Bobbi Oshiro, before facing off against her women’s doubles partner this weekend, Yana Newell.

The first game was extremely back and forth, going 16-14 in favor of Fudge. Fudge just dominated the second game, winning 15-5 in the rally scoring event.

Fudge won gold with Newell in women’s doubles. The No. 3 seed beat Rianna Valdes and Bobbi Oshiro, following that up with a win over Susannah Barr and Mari Humberg in two VERY close games, 13-11 and 15-13. Fudge and Newell then won their matchup with Allison Harris and Simone Jardim, 11-2, 11-7.

Lastly, Fudge played so well in the women’s doubles Shuffle on Sunday, winning the first event of its kind. She proved on the day that she is the best women’s doubles player on the APP Tour, but it is close. She won on point differential there, winning two out of her three matches in the final round. 

Fudge has been playing great this year, winning 15 medals on the APP Tour with four gold medals to her name. She is definitely the class of the women’s field on the APP Tour in 2024. 

Jack Munro lands some Gold Medals, proving his hard work is paying off

Jack Munro is somehow managing to attend UT-Austin full time and play pro pickleball at an extremely high level. Munro is part of the APP Next Gen Team and while he had success at the inaugural APP Atlantic Cup, he hasn’t won on tour this year.

Until New York.

Munro won men’s doubles with Mario Barrientos on Saturday night. Barrientos and Munro weren’t even supposed to play together. Barrientos’ partner, Anderson Scarpa, withdrew earlier in the week, and so did Munro’s partner, Andrei Daescu. Rather than not play at all, Munro and Barrientos decided to team up.

On their way to the championship, Barrientos and Munro beat Stefan Auvergne and Brendon Long, 11-5, 11-5. They also bested Will Howells and CJ Klinger, 11-6, 11-2. In the finals, Munro and Barrientos beat Erik Pailet and Ben Newell, 11-6, 11-5.

In addition to his men’s doubles win, Munro won the inaugural Men’s Pro Shuffle. As previously mentioned, it took a five-point tiebreaker to crown the champion. Munro barely edged out William Sobek, with Brendon Long and Jason McNulty finishing in third and fourth, respectively.

Will Howells and Bobbi Oshiro Win Mixed Doubles Gold

The duo had already teamed up once this year at the APP Punta Gorda, winning a bronze medal. Oshiro and Howells had a tough route to their gold medal in New York.

In their first match, Oshiro and Howells beat Simone Jardim and Chris Haworth. Next, they beat Brendon Long and Yana Newell, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3. In the semifinals, they beat another tough team in Rob Nunnery and Susannah Barr, 11-9, 11-5.

The finals was a thriller, going the distance in three games. CJ Klinger and Mari Humberg were formidable and played great. However, Howells and Oshiro won 12-14, 11-8, and 11-6. 

The gold in mixed doubles and bronze in singles earned Oshiro her fourth and fifth medals on the year. The men’s doubles bronze and this gold marked Howell’s seventh and eighth medals on the APP Tour in 2024.

Chris Haworth Wins His Third Gold in Men’s Singles

Haworth is proving himself to be the class of men’s singles on the APP Tour. He has only missed the podium one time this year. Chris started the year with a win at APP Punta Gorda and also won APP Delray Beach. Haworth is playing well with his new Babolat paddle.

Haworth had a tough road to the championship. He first had to beat Frank Anthony David (FAD) and did so 15-10, 15-10. Next, he beat Will Howells, 16-14, and 15-10. Then Vuk Velickovic gave Haworth a run for his money, as it took Haworth three games to beat him, 15-8, 7-15, and 15-6.

The final couldn’t have been closer. Grayson Goldin gave Haworth everything he could handle and then some. Goldin was coming off his first APP Tour win in APP Cincinnati. Haworth won the match 20-18 and 18-16. 

Full Results from the New York City Open

Women’s Singles

1. Megan Fudge
2. Yana Newell
3. Bobbi Oshiro

Men’s Singles

1. Chris Haworth
2. Grayson Goldin
3. Alexander Crum

Mixed Doubles

1. Bobbi Oshiro/Will Howells
2. Yana Newell/CJ Klinger
3. Susannah Barr/Rob Nunnery

Women’s Doubles

1. Yana Newell/Megan Fudge
2. Simone Jardim/Allison Harris
3. Susannah Barr/Mari Humberg

Men’s Doubles 

1. Mario Barrientos/Jack Munro
2. Ben Newell/Erik Pailet
3. CJ Klinger/Will Howells