PPA Tour Makes Inaugural Stop in Tennessee With New Pairings and a National TV Spotlight

The PPA Tour is going to the state of Tennessee for the first time this week as it continues its gauntlet of four events in four weeks this month.

The Bristol Sportsplex is hosting the inaugural event. The facility has four indoor tennis courts, four outdoor pickleball courts and two outdoor tennis courts. I am guessing there will be temporary courts built to house the large event.

How to Watch the PPA Bristol Open

The PPA Tour will be back in the national spotlight this weekend. Championship Sunday at the Bristol Open will be on FOX from 1-3pm ET.

Thursday, August 8th - Singles

• Championship Court - 11am - 7pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court - 11am - 5pm ET - PPA YouTube

Friday, August 9th - Mixed Doubles

• Championship Court - 11am - 7pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court - 11am - 5pm ET - PPA YouTube
• Mixed Doubles Rerun - 9:30pm - 11:30pm ET - FS1

Saturday, August 10th - Gender Doubles

• Championship Court - 11am - 7pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court - 11am - 5pm ET - PPA YouTube
• Gender Doubles Rerun - 7pm - 9pm ET - FS1

Sunday, August 11th - Championship Sunday

• Championship Court - 11am - 1pm ET - PickleballTV
• Championship Court - 1pm -3pm ET - FOX
• Championship Court - 3 - 6pm ET - PickleballTV
• Grandstand Court (Bronze Medal Matches) - 10am - 2pm ET - PPA YouTube

Weather Outlook

Looks like Friday-Sunday players might be dodging thunderstorms. Hopefully there is an indoor solution should the elements wreak havoc with outdoor play.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines

• (1) Anna Leigh Waters is back! It’s been over a month since ALW won a singles title, but she did win the last one she played.
• (2) Catherine Parenteau still hasn’t found a way to get a gold medal, despite playing three tournaments without ALW.
• (20) Anna Bright is signed up for singles and if she plays, I really hope they put her and Kaitlyn Christian on the livestream in the Round of 16.

Players to Watch

I am actually looking to the qualifiers this week:

• Kate Fahey is again forced to go through qualifiers, despite getting a silver medal at last week’s Kansas City Open.
• Emilia Schmidt, the Australian, is back playing in the States and is a formidable threat.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Lea Jansen, (5) Brooke Buckner, (4) Salome Devidze
• Finals: Anna Leigh beats Brooke Buckner in the finals for gold

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

• (2) Ben Johns is back in action in singles, but he has relinquished the top seed to Federico Staksrud. Fed has a commanding lead on that; he leads Ben Johns by 1,500 points in the rankings.
• This may be the smallest field in 2024. I mean zero offense to these guys – they are good – but (14) Roscoe Bellamy and (16) Marshall Brown are both getting a bye.
• Eric Roddy upset Hayden Patriquin last week and the PPA Tour likes rematches, so they could face each other in the Round of 32.

Players to Watch

• Grayson Goldin is still somehow a PPA qualifier, which just confuses me. I expect him to make another run in Bristol.
• (36) James Ignatowich is playing singles in Bristol, but he has to face (31) Noe Khlif and if he wins that (a big if), he has to face Fed. Yikes.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (8) Jaume Martinez Vich, (5) Quang Duong, (2) Ben Johns, (6) Dylan Frazier
• Finals: Quang Duong defeats Ben Johns for his first ever gold medal

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

• (2) Anna Bright and Christian Alshon are teaming up for the first time because James Ignatowich isn’t playing mixed doubles in this event.
• (7) Catherine Parenteau is teaming up with Andrei Daescu for the first time and I anticipate the pair going deep in Tennessee.
• Yates Johnson and Kate Fahey are paired together, but they have to go through qualifiers to make the main draw.

Players to Watch

• (19) Quang Duong and Alix Truong are together for the first time. I promise you one thing – there won’t be much dinking in any match this duo is a part of and I am here for it.
• (9) Hurricane Tyra Black and Gabe Tardio are teaming up for the first time. Tardio has struggled a ton in mixed with Kate Fahey in MLP – can he make a run in the PPA with HTB?

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (4) Tina Pisnik/Catherine Parenteau, (2) Anna Bright/Christian Alshon, (3) Jorja/JW Johnson
• Finals: Anna Bright and Christian Alshon give Anna Leigh and Ben their second loss on the year.

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• (2) Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher are back together after a while off the PPA Tour – Rohrabacher missed Kansas City.

• (14) Judit Castillo and Ewa Radzikowska – two Challenger Level players – are teaming up together.
• (4) Tina Pisnik and Lea Jansen are teaming up again. The last time they did so was the PPA Red Rock Open, where they won gold.

Players to Watch

I am going to the qualifiers for this one as well:

• I will just keep beating the Kate Fahey drum until she makes the main draw – she is playing with Amanda Hendry in qualifiers.
• Mehvish Safdar is playing with (I am guessing) her sister, Komal Safdar. Mehvish is a collegiate pickleball champion and former D-I tennis player – be on the lookout.
• (12) Kaitlyn Christian and Tammy Emmrich are teaming up for the first time and I love the idea of this partnership. I think they can make a deep run.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau, (3) Lacy Schneemann/Jade Kawamoto, (2) Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher, (7) Jorja Johnson/Viv Glozman
• Finals: Anna Leigh and Catherine beat Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher in five games

Men’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• (7) James Ignatowich and Andrei Daescu are together for the first time. I assume Andrei plays the steady left and James plays a big right side, but we'll see how it plays out.
• (8) Quang Duong and Christian Alshon are teammates on the Texas Ranchers and they are teaming up for the first time on the PPA Tour.
• If the Johns brothers don't win in Tennessee, they will have gone four months without a win on the PPA Tour.
• (5) Gabe Tardio and Fed Staksrud are coming off of a win, can they make it two in a row?

Players to Watch

• (11) Noe Khlif and Tyler Loong are playing together for the first time and I really like the pairing. Athleticism is high for this duo and they can hit every shot necessary.
• (16) Michael Loyd and Todd Fought will face JW and Dylan in the Round of 16 and while I don’t love their odds, I love this pairing long term.

Predictions (hear me out)

• Semifinalists: (16) Michael Loyd/Todd Fought, (8) Quang Duong/Christian Alshon, (2) Ben/Collin Johns, (7) James Ignatowich/Andrei Daescu
• Finals: Quang Duong and Christian Alshon get their first men’s doubles gold by defeating the Johns brothers