STORYLINES FOR THE VEOLIA CAPE CORAL OPEN PRESENTED BY PROTON

OVERALL TOP 5: 

• RIDE THE WAVE: What momentum carries over from the best Championship Sunday in tour history at Mesa?
• ALL MIXED UP: So many different partnerships, including JW/Jorja Johnson NOT playing together after winning mixed in Mesa. 
• FEELING A DRAFT: The Premier Free Agency Draft is on March 2^nd so will brand new teammates battle in Florida?
• DEBUT: Ben Johns and Andrei Daescu highlight the many new teams in men’s doubles.  
• OPEN IT UP: 1,000 Carvana PPA Tour points for the winners. 

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• First visit to the newly rebranded facility:  The Courts, Cape Coral, so no defending medalists. 
• Over 1,100 players participating in the event. 
• Traditional format: singles Thursday, mixed Friday, men’s and women’s doubles Saturday, then Championship Sunday. 
• PickleballTV (and the app) will have all of the coverage.  

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Anna Leigh Waters (1) rallied from down 4-11, 4-9 to beat Brooke Buckner (3) in the Mesa final.
• Salome Devidze (7) returns for her first PPA tournament since Daytona Beach – she got the only win over Waters in 2024. 
• Interesting R32 match features Genie Bouchard (10) vs. Jessie Irvine (18). 
• Kaitlyn Christian (2) didn’t play for the title for the first time in 2025 in Mesa. 
• Watch out for: Buckner – fueled by the near miss vs. Waters (and in the other half of the draw here), eyes a Sunday rematch.   

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Ben Johns (1) played his first singles event of 2025 and won it in Mesa.
• Staksrud is out of singles but playing both doubles events. 
• Hunter Johnson (3) lost in the Mesa final and tweaked an ankle – can he recover for a deep run?
• Michael Loyd (10) has not built on his big performances at the end of 2024 – will this be his week?
• Watch out for: Tyson McGuffin (4) – missed Mesa with injuries and returns for his first tourney since Australia. Can he find peak form?

MIXED DOUBLES:

• Jorja Johnson, fresh off a win in Mesa with her brother JW, is not paired with JW but with Hayden Patriquin (they won Daytona Beach together) as the 4 seed. 
• Waters/Johns (1) lost just once in 2024 and are coming off a loss to Dekel Bar/Anna Bright last week in Mesa. 
• Bar teams with the other half of “the Girlies”, playing this week with Rachel Rohrabacher (5). 
• Hurricane Tyra Black and Augie Ge, the Dallas Flash teammates, join forces as the 13 seed: 
• Watch out for: Bright/JW Johnson (2) – played against each other in the Mesa final – can they get to Sunday together? 

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Waters/Parenteau (1) had to come from behind to win the showdown with Rohrabacher/Bright (2) in a riveting 5 game thriller in Mesa. 
• Black/Jones (3) were a major factor at the end of 2024 – can they get in the medals?
• Pisnik/Fahey (8) – look more dangerous in each tournament but would face a potential quarterfinal date with the top seeds. 
• Watch out for: The Rivalry – will the 1 vs. 2 rematch come to fruition in Cape Coral?

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Ben Johns won the Masters with his brother Collin Johns, bronze with Patriquin, and silver with Gabe Tardio – how will he and the red hot Daescu fare as the top seed?
• Patriquin and Tardio (3) are paired up hoping for shocking results. 
• Riley Newman and Dylan Frazier (5) join forces for the first time. 
• Garnett and Ignatowich bring one of the best sets of twoeys to a first-time partnership as a dangerous 11 seed. 
• Christian Alshon won both AZ events with Daescu, now paired with Staksrud as the 2 seed. 
• Watch out for: JW Johnson/CJ Klinger (6) – quick hands and righty/lefty combo could create havoc if they can gel on the 20X44.