The ABC’s of 2025

*Anna Leigh and Ben’s Championships in calendar year 2025)

(all stats cited refer to gold medal matches)

ANNA LEIGH WATERS:

Medals: Waters won 38 gold medals, two silver medals, and three bronze medals in 17 tournaments.  She had only one tournament where she did not win at least one gold medal.

Singles: Waters won 12 times in 12 tournaments, the first time she has gone undefeated in a calendar year in Singles. 

   In 12 gold medal matches, Waters won 24 games while losing only two games. Brooke Buckner led 11-4 and 9-4 at Mesa, and Fahey won a game 11-7 at Atlanta. Fahey played her especially closely, losing games by the scores of 15-13, 13-11 and 12-10. 

   Waters held her opponents to seven points or fewer in a finals game 19 times. Waters had more “Clean Winners” than her opponent in ten of those twelve finals. She beat eight different players in those gold medal matches, and won her 50th career Singles title at Red Rock.

Doubles: Waters won 13 golds, one silver and two bronze medals in 17 tournaments. 

   Waters and Catherine Parenteau won five golds and one silver medal. In their six finals, they lost six of 22 games, with three of those at the hands of Tyra Black at Jorja Johnson at North Carolina…the only time Waters lost back-to-back games all year.

   Waters and Anna Bright won seven golds and two bronzes. In their seven finals, they lost only one of 22 games (to Tyra Black and Parris Todd at Worlds). Black was the only player to win a game in a final against both Waters/Parenteau and Waters/Bright. In Waters/Bright’s recent streak of four consecutive wins from Virginia Beach to Lakeland, Waters had the most “Clean Winners” in those gold medal matches all four times.

   Waters finished 2025 with a title at Daytona Beach with Jorja Johnson. Oh by the way, Waters also finished 2024 by winning at Daytona Beach with her mother, Leigh Waters.

Mixed Doubles: Waters and Ben Johns won 13 golds, one silver and one bronze medal in 15 tournaments. They medaled in every tournament in which they played. Their silver medal was against the Johnsons in North Carolina, and they earned a bronze medal in Mesa after losing to Anna Bright and Dekel Bar in the semis.

   Waters and Johns lost only eleven games in 14 finals. JW Johnson was on the other side of the net for nine of those eleven games. JW and his sister Jorja played Waters/Bright exceptionally well, beating them once and losing in five games twice. The only time all year that Waters and Johns lost back-to-back games  was to the Johnsons.

   Eight of Waters/Johns’ victories came in three straight games, including four tournaments in a row from Cincinnati to the Words. Their win at Orange County was their 50th together.

Triple Crowns: Waters earned eight Triple Crowns, raising her career and PPA-record total to 39. She won four consecutive Triple Crowns from Virginia Beach to Lakeland, the fourth time she has won Triple Crowns in four or more consecutive tournaments.

Greatness on Gold Medal Games: Waters won 84% of the games she played in gold medal matches, compiling a record of 105-20. When she or her team won the first game, she had a record of 32-2, and a 6-0 mark when her opponent won the first game.

2026: Waters enters the new year with 172 titles: 57 Singles, 56 Doubles, and 59 Mixed Doubles. Her “lowest” total, 56 in Doubles, is still more than the overall career titles won by any other player other than Ben Johns. Her longest active winning streak in tournaments played is 19 in Singles, dating back to June 2024.

BEN JOHNS: 

Medals: Johns won 26 gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes in 15 tournaments.

Singles: Johns won titles in Mesa (against Hunter Johnson) and Atlanta (against Connor Garnett), but had no other medal-winning outings. He was eliminated prior to the semifinals six times.

Doubles: Johns won eleven golds, two silvers, and one bronze. He won one gold with Collin Johns, one gold with Andrei Daescu, and one bronze with Hayden Patriquin. Playing with Gabe Tardio since March, they won nine golds and two silvers together in twelve tournaments.

   It took a while for Johns and Tardio to gel as a team. In their first five tournaments together, they won three golds and two silvers, and won eleven of 22 games in the finals. In their seven tournaments since then (starting with Bristol), they have six golds and a fourth place. They won 18 of 21 games in their six finals, a marked improvement from the eleven of 22 they won in the first half of the year.

   In their first final together in Mesa, Johns and Tardio lost to Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu, then beat them in the four finals they faced them after that.

Mixed Doubles: Johns and Anna Leigh Waters dominated again, winning 13 of the 19 gold medals offered this year. Eight of those 13 wins were three-game sweeps, including four of their last five. Johns and Waters did not play (or play together) in four events, and had one silver medal and one bronze. The Johnsons claimed four of the other six titles.

Triple Crowns: Johns did not have a Triple Crown this year for the first time. He played in all three finals only once, in Atlanta. He has 21 career Triple Crowns.

Greatness on Gold Medal Games: Johns won 75% of the games he played in gold medal matches, compiling a record of 80-26. When Johns or his team won the first game of a gold medal match, he had a record of 20-1, the only blemish being a loss in Mixed Doubles. He was 6-2 when his opponent won the first game.

2026: Johns enters the new year with 169 titles: 42 Singles, 55 Doubles, and 72 Mixed Doubles. His “lowest” total, 42 in Singles, is still more than the overall career titles won by any other player other than Waters and Parenteau. His longest active winning streak in tournaments played is nine in Mixed Doubles, dating back to North Carolina in April.  

Johns is the only player to have won at least one gold medal in every year since the Tour’s inception in 2020.