PPA Black Desert Resort Red Rock Open Tournament Preview

The PPA Tour is back in Utah for an exciting week of pickleball. The Little Valley Pickleball Complex, in St. George, is hosting the tournament.

The Red Rock Open is a staple in pickleball. Utah is well known for being a hotbed for very good pickleball and has a rich history of hosting phenomenal tournaments.

Weather Outlook

Good news: There is no precipitation in the forecast in Utah. Winds may be a slight problem throughout the event, but will not be nearly as big of an issue as they were in Texas.

The other thing that will affect play in Utah is the altitude. At 2,860 feet above sea level, St. George is the highest altitude location on the 2025 PPA Tour. A higher altitude means the ball will be traveling fast. Especially from Friday through Sunday, expect players to be driving and crashing a ton. Players who adjust to the altitude the quickest will be in very good position to win.

Top Storylines 

New hybrid tournament format

The PPA Tour is trying out a new tournament format for the Red Rock Open. It is a hybrid between the traditional Open tournament draw and the Progressive draws that happen for Cups and Slams.

Format:

• Wednesday - Women’s and Men’s Singles through quarterfinals
• Thursday - Mixed Doubles through quarterfinals
• Friday - Women’s and Men’s Doubles through quarterfinals
• Saturday - Semi-finals in all five events
• Sunday - Championship Sunday

Missing players

This is an Open level event, so having players skip is not uncommon. However, there are quite a few notable players missing.

Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Tyson McGuffin, Brooke Buckner, Collin Johns, and Zoey Wang are joining Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf on the JOOLA Legends Pickleball Tour, from March 26th - March 29th.

Additionally, Tina Pisnik, Kate Fahey, Jessie Irvine, and Gabe Tardio are all taking this event off.

Championship Sunday is on FOX

This is the first time in 2025 that the PPA Tour will be on FOX. The exclusive two-hour window on Championship Sunday will be from 4:30pm - 6:30pm ET.

How to watch the Black Desert Resort Red Rock Open

Wednesday, March 26th - Women’s and Men’s Singles

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court - PickleballTV
• 1pm - 9pm ET - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV

Thursday, March 27th - Mixed Doubles

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court - PickleballTV
• 1pm - 9pm ET - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV

Friday, March 28th - Women’s and Men’s Doubles

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court - PickleballTV
• 1pm - 9pm ET - Grandstand Court - PickleballTV
• 6:30pm - 8:30pm ET - FS2 (Concurrently)

Saturday, March 29th - Semi-final Saturday

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court - PickleballTV
• 1pm - 9pm ET - Grandstand Court - Juniors and Collegiate Showcase - PickleballTV
• 9:30pm - 11:30pm ET - FS1 (Replays)

Sunday, March 30th - Championship Sunday

• 1pm - 4:30pm ET - Championship Court - Gold Medal Matches - PickleballTV
• 4:30pm - 6:30pm ET - Championship Court - Gold Medal Matches - FOX
• Noon - 4pm ET - Grandstand Court - Bronze Medal Matches - PickleballTV

Let’s get into the action.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines

• This is probably the smallest field thus far on the PPA Tour in 2025, with Fahey and Buckner missing.
• Since the field is so small, some unsigned players have been moved to the main draw: (17) Lara Giltinan and (18) Jalina Ingram.
• Kaitlyn Christian, Parris Todd, and Catherine Parenteau are all on the opposite side of the bracket from ALW - which player is going to be able to step up to make Championship Sunday?

Prediction

• Semi-finalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Lea Jansen, (2) Kaitlyn Christian, and (4) Parris Todd
• Finals: Anna Leigh beats Parris Todd in the finals for her fifth title on the year

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

• Recently signed UPA player (18) John Lucian Goins is now seeded correctly. He has wins over Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio, Dylan Frazier. We will see how well the 16-year-old can play, now that he is a known commodity.
• (3) Connor Garnett has yet to medal in 2025 and will most likely have to face off against arguably the hottest pickleball player in the world right now, (6) Christian Alshon, in the quarters.
• A great potential Round of 16 matchup could be between (4) Jaume Martinez Vich and (14) Zane Ford. The two SixZero sponsored athletes got into a heated argument after the last match they played together, but Zane said the beef was quickly squashed when he went on the PicklePod podcast recently.

Prediction

• Semi-finalists: (1) Federico Staksrud, (6) Christian Alshon, (2) Hunter Johnson, and (4) Jaume Martinez Vich
• Finals: Fed beats Christian in the semis on Saturday and then beats Hunter for the Championship

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

• With Ben Johns visiting Asia, Anna Leigh Waters decided to skip mixed doubles in Utah, so the field is wide open.
• There are some new partnerships for this event that are interesting:
  • (3) Etta Tuionetoa and Federico Staksrud
  • (4) Hurricane Tyra Black and James Ignatowich
  • (5) Rachel Rohrabacher and Hayden Patriquin
  • (6) Parris Todd and Dekel Bar
  • (9) Vivienne David and Dylan Frazier
• My favorite early round matchup to watch is the Round of 32 match between (13) Allyce Jones/Travis Rettenmaier and (20) Kaitlyn Christian/Jack Sock, if the 20 seed can beat the qualifier they face in the Round of 64.

Prediction

• Semi-finalists: (1) Jorja & JW Johnson, (3) Etta Tuionetoa/Dekel Bar, (2) Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon, and (5) Rachel Rohrabacher/Hayden Patriquin
• Finals: Catherine Parenteau and Christian Alshon earn their first gold together over the Johnson siblings

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• With Anna Bright out for the JOOLA tour, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher is teamed up with Parris Todd.
• Local Utahns, (4) Allyce Jones/Etta Tuionetoa are teamed up in their home stomping grounds.
• (7) Mari Humberg and Meghan Dizon are teaming up for the first time and it is an interesting pairing because Dizon is replacing Humberg on the 5s this year.

Prediction

• Semi-finalists: (1) Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Jorja Johnson/Hurricane Tyra Black, (5) Lucy Kovalova/Lea Jansen, and (4) Allyce Jones/Etta Tuionetoa
• Finals: Catherine and Anna Leigh beat Lucy and Lea in the finals

Men’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• (1) Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud are teaming up again - the duo has won two gold medals together.
• New LA Mad Drops teammates, (8) Hunter Johnson and Quang Duong, are teaming up on the PPA Tour for the first time ever.
• (2) Andrei Daescu and Christian Alshon have both been on a tear recently. They won Tucson and Mesa - can they make it three gold medals on the year?

Prediction

• Semi-finalists: (1) Hayden Patriquin/Federico Staksrud, (4) CJ Klinger/JW Johnson, (2) Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu, and (3) Dylan Frazier/Dekel Bar
• Finals: CJ Klinger and JW Johnson beat Alshon and Daescu in the finals