STORYLINES FOR THE VEOLIA CINCINNATI SHOWCASE PRESENTED BY SIX ZERO

SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2025

OVERALL TOP 5: 

• BEST ROUND OF 64 MATCH EVER: Ben Johns (5) vs. Chris Haworth (57) on Tuesday. 
• “QUEEN” CITY: Can Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black win back-to-back events? Plus, Anna Leigh Waters returns to singles. 
• BEASTS: Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio have won 4 of the last 5 men’s doubles titles and Hunter Johnson is the new #1 ranked player in the world in singles.  
• LOB-A-PALOOZA: After all of the lobbing in the indoor venue in Vegas, will that continue outside in Ohio?
• SLAM THE DOOR: One of just 4 Slams during the season with 2000 points going to the winners.  

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• Tourney #14 on the campaign – back at the Lindner Family Tennis Center after a one-year hiatus for the venue’s significant renovations. 
• Progressive Format: Round of 64 Tuesday, Round of 32 Wednesday, Round of 16 Thursday, Quarterfinal Friday, Semifinal Saturday, and Championship Sunday.  
• PickleballTV (and the app) will have the coverage, starting each day at 10am Eastern, with Tennis Channel coverage on Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 2pm. 
• Defending medalists listed below are from the CIBC Atlanta Slam in 2024 (where the tourney was relocated last year).

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending Medalists: Anna Leigh Waters, Parris Todd, Lea Jansen
• Anna Leigh Waters (1) looks to continue her undefeated singles season. 
• Kate Fahey is the two seed and looking for her second win in 2025.  
• Catherine Parenteau (7) also returns to singles, seeking her first win since August of 2023. 
• Watch out for: Kaitlyn Christian (3) – brilliant down the stretch last week in Vegas to take out Fahey 11-9 in the 3^rd – can she make it to Sunday again?

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending Medalists: Hunter Johnson, Connor Garnett, Federico Staksrud
• Hunter Johnson is the 1 seed as he has climbed to the top of the singles mountain (won the September Atlanta Slam in 2024 to claim his first title).
• Federico Staksrud (2) falls out of the number one ranking, could face Noe Khlif (16) in the round of 16. 
• Triple crown winner last week in Asia, Connor Garnett, is the 3 seed. 
• Watch out for: John Lucian Goins (8) – has won back-to-back titles, looking for the hat trick.

MIXED DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon, Jorja and JW Johnson
• All medalists in 2024 return as the top 3 seeds: Waters/Johns (1), Johnsons (2), Parenteau/Alshon (3)
• Rohrabacher is back after a week off, plays for the 2^nd time with Khlif (8).
• Black and Patriquin (6) look to build momentum from a silver medal in Vegas. 
• Watch out for: Bright/Daescu (4) – 2024 Austin champs paired for their 4^th tourney together.

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Rohrabacher/Bright, Waters/Parenteau, Schneemann/Jackie Kawamoto
• Bright and Waters (1) undefeated streak ended in Vegas at 45 straight.  
• Catherine Parenteau and Parris Todd (2) had a strong run to silver in sin city last week. 
• Talented new team: Rachel Rohrabacher and Lea Jansen (3) – are in the top seed’s half. 
• Watch out for: Hurricane Tyra Black and Jorja Johnson (4) – arrive in OH with so much confidence from knocking out Waters and Bright and backing it up with gold.

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Johns/Johns, McGuffin/Martinez Vich, JW Johnson/Frazier
• Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio (1) seek their 5^th win in the last 6 PPA events. 
• (2) Staksrud/Patriquin and (3) Alshon/Daescu are in the same half – will we get another epic battle between these two teams in the semis?
• Fun first-time partner alert: Hunter Johnson and Tyson McGuffin (8) have forehands for days. 
• Watch out for: JW Johnson/CJ Klinger (4): Ice/Ice captured the previous Slam in 2025, beating Johns and Tardio in 3 in Atlanta in May.