PPA Indoor National Championships Tournament Preview

Thedink Pickleball 14 hours ago 16 views

Just days after leaving sunny and beautiful Rancho Mirage, California, the PPA Tour is headed to FRIGID Minneapolis, Minnesota.

When I say frigid, I mean it - here are the high temperatures of the day for Thursday through Sunday: 7, -9, -1, 2. Yes, those are negative signs. Good thing play is all indoors at the Life Time Lakeville Minnesota, in a southern suburb of Minneapolis.

This is an Open level event, worth 1,000 PPA Points to the winners of each event. Additionally, the PPA Tour has updated its format for 2026 - all tournaments are now Progressive Draws, so play actually started on Tuesday in the Round of 64.

How to Watch the PPA Indoor National Championships

Wednesday, 1/21 - Round of 32

PPA Streamed Courts YouTube Channel

Thursday, 1/22 - Round of 16

11am - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
2pm - 5pm ET - Championship Court - Tennis Channel
11am - 7pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Friday, 1/23 - Quarterfinals

11am - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
2pm - 5pm ET - Championship Court - Tennis Channel
11am - 7pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Saturday, 1/24 - Semifinals

11am - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
11am - 7pm ET - Grandstand Court (Juniors) - pickleballtv

Sunday, 1/25 - Championship Sunday

11am - 5pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
10am - 2pm ET - Grandstand Court (Bronze) - pickleballtv

Notable players missing from this tournament

Ben Johns
Anna Leigh Waters is only playing women’s doubles
Jorja Johnson
JW Johnson
Riley Newman
Jade Kawamoto
Jackie Kawamoto
Etta Tuionetoa

Let’s get into the action.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines

Anna Leigh Waters and Kate Fahey are not playing this one, so Kailtyn Christian is the #1 seed
Parris Todd is back as the #4 seed after serving her one PPA Tour event suspension
The best first round matchup is (9) Hannah Blatt vs. (19) Kiora Kunimoto - Blatt has been playing well recently and Kunimoto recently won gold on the PPA Challenger Series
(2) Brooke Buckner could face off against her women’s doubles partner, (7) Zoey Wang, in the quarterfinals

Predictions

Seminfinalists: (1) Kaitlyn Christian, (4) Parris Todd, (2) Brooke Buckner, and (3) Lea Jansen
Finals: Parris Todd defeats Lea Jansen in three

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

#1 seed and #2 seed, Hunter Johnson, and Federico Staksrud, picked up slight injuries at the Masters last week - can they compete in Minnesota?
Will Howells sprained his left ankle playing against Cason Campbell in the Round of 64, withdrawing from both singles and mixed doubles - assuming he is also not playing men’s doubles, but we will find out today (Wednesday)
(15) Mo Alhouni is in his hometown, can he make a run in front of his fans?
(23) Grayson Goldin hasn’t really made a deep run in singles since signing with the PPA Tour exclusively - is Minnesota the place where he makes a quarter or semifinal run?

Predictions

Seminfinalists: (10) Noe Khlif, (6) Roscoe Bellamy, (5) Chris Haworth, and (3) Christian Alshon
Finals: Haworth beats Bellamy in two

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Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

Since Ben Johns is not playing this event at all, Anna Leigh Waters is not playing mixed doubles
The silver medalists from the Masters, (1) Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin are looking for gold in Minnesota
(8) Tina Pisnik and Noe Khlif won bronze in the Masters - can they make a deep run again in Minnesota?
(5) Federico Staksrud and Alix Truong are teaming up again after winning the 2025 PPA Tour Asia Hangzhou Open in early December

Predictions

Seminfinalists: (1) Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin, (3) Catherine Parenteau/Gabe Tardio, (2) Hurricane Tyra Black/Christian Alshon, and (4) Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu
Finals: AB and Hayden beat Parris and Andrei in four

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

This is the only event Anna Leigh Waters is playing in Minnesota, so I expect her to be fresh and hungry each time she plays
As previously mentioned, Parris Todd is back and playing with Hurricane Tyra Black
(4) Lacy Schneemann is coming off a semifinal run at the Masters with Etta Tuionetoa, let’s see what she can do with another Utahn, in Meghan Dizon this week
(2) Rachel Rohrabacher and Catherine Parenteau have just a little bit more on the line this week, as Rohrabacher is only playing women’s doubles, as Will Howells had to pull out of mixed

Predictions

Seminfinalists: (1) Anna Bright/Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Lacy Schneemann/Meghan Dizon, (2) Catherine Parenteau/Rachel Rohrabacher, and (3) Parris Todd/Hurricane Tyra Black
Finals: AB and ALW beat Parris and Tyra in three

Men's Doubles

Top Storylines

With no Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio is partnering with Andrei Daescu, and they are the #1 seed
JW Johnson is also missing, so CJ Klinger is partnering with Fed Staksrud, and they are the #3 seed
I am excited to see The Lab players (15) Carlos Di Laura and Zane Navratil partner up for a tournament
I have a feeling the (11) Rafa Hewett and Collin Johns vs. (21) Greg Dow and James Delgado could get a little spicy - I hope that one is streamed

Predictions

Seminfinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Andrei Daescu, (7) Max Freeman/Tyson McGuffin, (2) Christian Alshon/Hayden Patriquin, and (4) Dylan Frazier/Eric Oncins
Finals: Alshon and Patriquin beat Tardio and Daescu in four

Header Graphic courtesy of the PPA Tour

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