STORYLINES FOR THE CARVANA MASTERS POWERED BY INVITED (January 12-18, 2026)

OVERALL TOP 5: 

• GRAND SLAM: Starting the year with a SLAM – worth 2,000 points, double an Open.
• NATIONAL EYEBALLS: National CBS audience on Sunday at noon Eastern leads into NFL playoffs. 
• CHOOSE THY WEAPON: Several top players switching paddles – will that affect performance? 
• HOWELLS AT THE MOON: Will Howells joins the PPA Tour full time – how will he fare in tourney #1?
• 3 OF A KIND: How many players will claim a title in all 3 disciplines in 2026? Just Anna Leigh Waters, Ben Johns, and Parris Todd hit the trifecta in ’25.

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• Year 4 at Invited’s Mission Hills Country Club.
• WHITE OUT tradition – all players will be decked in white.
• Over 1,700 players participating. 
• Event #1 in 2026 features a progressive draw, one round per bracket per day.
• Coverage on PickleballTV begins at 10am Pacific Tuesday through Saturday. 
• Championship Sunday coverage begins at 9am Pacific, with the CBS exclusive national 2 hour window. 
• FS1 exclusive window on Saturday from 3:30-5:30 Pacific time. 

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending medalists: Federico Staksrud, Jaume Martinez Vich, Tyson McGuffin
• Hunter Johnson is the top seed, entering 2026 as #1, can he win as the favorite?
• Ben Johns is not playing singles in this event. 
• Chris Haworth looks to reel in the players at the top of the rankings and wear the #1 crown – he starts 2026 as the 6 seed, after winning in Daytona to close 2025. 
• Will anyone win more than 4 titles in ‘26? Staksrud (2) won 4 times in 2025 to top that list. 
• WATCH OUT FOR: Roscoe Bellamy (9) won in Lakeland to end his ’25 schedule, beating Hunter Johnson in the final. Can he get back to Champ Sunday?

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending medalists: Anna Leigh Waters, Kaitlyn Christian, Catherine Parenteau
• Can anyone beat ALW (1)? 59-0 in 2025 in singles. 
• Catherine Parenteau (6) notched her first singles win since August of ‘23 in Daytona, will that result spur improved singles results in 2026?
• WATCH OUT FOR: Kate Fahey (2) – took a game from Waters and pushed her multiple times in ‘25, looking to get the elusive first win versus the top seed. 

MIXED DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Waters/Johns, Parenteau/Staksrud, Black/Alshon 
• Jorja and JW Johnson (2) were the clear #2 team in 2025, can they continue that fine play in 2026?
• Catherine Parenteau and Gabe Tardio (5) pair up to start ‘26, how will they fare? 
• Howells and Rohrabacher (18) are a dangerous low seed as Howells will have to earn points to improve his seeds across disciplines. 
• Andrei Daescu is paired with Lacy Schneemann (6) – not Parris Todd as planned who is suspended for this tournament. 
• WATCH OUT FOR: Bright/Patriquin (3) – consistently won games vs. Waters/Johns (1), can they win a match versus the top seeds to start 2026?

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Waters/Parenteau, Bright/Rohrabacher, Black/Johnson
• Waters is with Bright (1). Pairing with Jorja Johnson at Daytona was a one off. 
• Parenteau and Rohrabacher (2) committed to playing together in ‘26, reached the final in both of their ‘25 events, eventually falling to Waters/Bright. 
• Pisnik/Fahey (7) improved as a duo throughout ‘25 – can they find a signature win in Rancho Mirage?
• WATCH OUT FOR: Jade and Jackie Kawamoto (4), had the win of ‘25 over Waters/Bright, later avenged, can they get back to Championship Sunday from the other half of the draw?

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Johns/Johns, Patriquin/Staksrud, Alshon/Daescu
• Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio are the team to beat as the top seed after an impressive first year  in ‘25 that started AFTER Ben won this tourney with his brother Collin in their swan song. 
• The 3 seed is Alshon/Patriquin – playing for the 3rd time, reached the quarters twice together in ‘24 in Vegas and Kansas City. 
• Will MacKinnon, born on Bainbridge Island, joins Washington state native Riley Newman as the 11 seed – twoeys for days with these 2 (and a big opportunity for the 17 year old MacKinnon).  
• WATCH OUT FOR: Daescu and Staksrud (2) – “right side Fed” won with Patriquin at Nationals, now he pairs with Daescu in the other half of the 2 and 3 seed mashup. This is their first tournament together.