The CIBC Atlanta Slam Tournament Preview and Predictions

Thedink Pickleball 2 months ago 34 views

After a much-needed week off, the PPA Tour is back in action at the wonderful Life Time Peachtree Corners, Georgia. The northern suburb of Atlanta is one of the favorite stops because of its excellent facilities.

The CIBC Atlanta Slam is the third Slam-level event in 2024. At these events, points toward standings are doubled. After Atlanta, the only Slam-level event remaining on the 2024 calendar is the LAPIPLASTY™ World Championships in November.

This tournament also has a Progressive Draw instead of the traditional draw. In a Progressive Draw, one round of each event (Gender Doubles, Singles, and Mixed Doubles) is played every day of the tournament.

Weather Outlook

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the Atlanta Slam looks far from ideal. As a result, indoor pickleball will likely be played several times during the week.

This is significant, as Close Call Replay won’t be available when the matches shift indoors.

How to Watch the CIBC Atlanta Slam

Tuesday, 9/10 - Round of 64

2pm - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - PPA YouTube
9am - 7pm EST - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube

Wednesday, 9/11 - Round of 32

11am - 3pm, 5pm - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - PickleballTV
3pm - 5pm EST - Humana Championship Court - ESPN2
6pm - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - CBS Sports
11am - 7pm EST - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube

Thursday, 9/12 - Round of 16

11am - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - PickleballTV
4pm - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - CBS Sports
11am - 7pm EST - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube

Friday, 9/13 - Quarterfinals

11am - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - PickleballTV
4pm - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - CBS Sports
11am - 7pm EST - Grandstand Court - PPA YouTube

Saturday, 9/14 - Semifinals

11am - 1pm, 3pm - 7pm EST - Humana Championship Court - PickleballTV
1pm - 3pm EST - Humana Championship Court - CBS

Sunday, 9/15 - Championship Sunday

11am - 5pm EST - Humana Championship Court - PickleballTV
12pm - 3pm EST - Humana Championship Court - CBS Sports
10am - 2pm EST - Grandstand Court (Bronze) - PPA YouTube

Top Storylines for the CIBC Atlanta Slam

Ahead of the event, here are some storylines we’re following:

Close Call Replay is here to stay

While it hasn’t been formally announced, sources have confirmed that Close Call Replay is starting operations on both the PPA Tour and MLP in Atlanta. The contract is through the end of the year, so all PPA and MLP events from now until the end of 2024 will have Close Call Replay.

The 240 frames per second of each of the seven cameras on the court make replays much easier for referees to use in making decisions.

Hopefully, the weather forecast is wrong, and most play will happen outside at the tournament, allowing Close Call Replay to play a larger role in challenged calls.

The new “Provisional Service Rule” will make its entrance in Atlanta

The PPA stated new provisional service rules for PPA Atlanta. Zane Navratil shared the new provisional rule on X:

I can’t wait to watch @PPAtour referees attempt to enforce “up to one ball length” of “natural lift” and “around 45 degrees or less” on the serve. @Pickleball pic.twitter.com/SuNIi3wqim

— Zane Navratil (@ZaneNavratil) September 7, 2024

We wrote an entire article on the new provisional service rule.

Most players shouldn’t have any difficulty adjusting, as it is very similar to the rule the PPA used at the Masters, the first event of 2024.

The draws for CIBC Atlanta

Here are some of the more interesting draws for this event.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines:

Anna Leigh is coming off a resounding win over Kate Fahey. Will we see this matchup again on Sunday?
Catherine Parenteau is not playing singles, leaving the No. 2 seed to Lea Jansen.
It is wild to think Jorja Johnson is the 16 seed, barely earning a bye in the Round of 32.

See Full Draw

Tice’s Takes:

There are very good qualifiers in women’s singles. I expect the following women to advance to the main draw: Mehvish Safdar, Cass Hoag, and Cailyn Campbell (Cason’s 14-year-old sister).
(21) Lingwei Kong has a good chance of upsetting (12) Lauren Stratman in the Round of 32.
(17) Liz Truluck is good friends with (15) Ava Ignatowich, as they were on the same Davidson Tennis team. I predict Truluck will win the match in the Round of 32.
(19) Genie Bouchard has a good chance of upsetting her friend and previous women’s doubles partner, (13) Dominique Schaefer.
(7) Parris Todd exacts some revenge and beats (11) Kate Fahey in the Round of 16.

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (8) Judit Castillo, (6) Kaitlyn Christian, and (7) Parris Todd.
Finals: Anna Leigh beats Kaitlyn Christian handedly to win her second straight PPA Tour event in women’s singles.

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

(1) Federico Staksrud is seeking his eighth singles victory in 2024.
(23) Donald Young is back playing on the PPA Tour after winning a silver medal in the US Open Mixed Doubles (Tennis) event with Taylor Townsend.
(16) Eric Roddy made a deep run in Las Vegas, earning a fourth-place finish and jumping up the rankings - let’s see how he does in Atlanta.

See Full Draw

Tice’s Takes

The fact that Grayson Goldin still has to go through qualifiers in singles as an unsigned player is kind of crazy. He has made the quarterfinals in three out of his last six PPA events and the Round of 16 twice, all from qualifiers. Since the PPA loves to see revenge matches, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Goldin face off against Jack Sock in the Round of 64 and beat him.
Utah Black Diamonds teammates and partners for this event, (3) Connor Garnett and (21) Tyler Loong, could meet in the Round of 16 if they both win their matchups.
(44) Zane Navratil is playing this weekend and could make some noise. (22) Naveen Beasley is no walkover. Zane will need his A-game on Tuesday.
(2) Ben Johns is known for slow starts, and he could face a very tough opponent in (29) Noe Khlif in the Round of 32.

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Federico Staksrud, (3) Connor Garnett, (8) Jaume Martinez Vich, and (4) Tyson McGuffin
Finals: Federico wins number eight on the year over Jaume Martinez Vich.

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

Anna Bright and James Ignatowich will play together (despite rumors of their breakup) and are the No. 2 seed.
(4) Catherine Parenteau and Christian Alshon are pairing up again. The last time they played together, they finished second at the Orange County Cup.
(10) Riley Newman and Allyce Jones are paired up for the first time. It will be interesting to see how far they can make it in the draw.
If they both win their first-round matches, (31) Kate Fahey could face her St. Louis Shock teammate, (2) Anna Bright, in the Round of 32.

See Full Draw

Tice’s Takes

(22) Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson have been playing lights out lately. They get an early-round matchup against (11) Dylan Frazier and Hurricane Tyra Black, who haven’t been playing well. Todd and Johnson deliver the upset, and I think Dylan and Tyra should think about switching up partners before the World Championships.
As a huge underdog, I think (40) Anderson Scarpa and Cass Hoag have a very real chance of winning their first round. Then, they get to play the (3) Johnson siblings. Mark me down for a Round of 32, upset with Scarpa/Hoag taking out JW and Jorja.
(5) Vivienne David and Wyatt Stone got the five seed due to Viv’s points. I don’t expect them to make it past the Round of 32, and with the quality of opponents in the qualifiers, they may not make it out of the Round of 64.

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters, (6) Dekel Bar/Tina Pisnik, (2) Anna Bright/James Ignatowich, (4) Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon.
Finals: Ben and Anna Leigh defeat Catherine and Christian for their 41st overall title together.

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

The field isn’t huge, so there are no women’s doubles qualifiers, so there will be some VERY lopsided scores in the Round of 64 for some of these teams.
(4) Lucy Kovalova and Callie Jo Smith are back together. This team could definitely go on a run.
(5) Hurricane Tyra Black and Allyce Jones are playing together - outside of Catherine and Anna Leigh, this has to be the best defensive team in the field. The question is, can they generate enough offense to get some wins?
(16) Kate Fahey and Lina Padegimaite are a first-time pairing, and I really like it. Lina plays a strong left side, and Fahey can fade to her powerful two-handed backhand counter at the line.

See Full Draw

Tice’s Takes

(38) I like the game of the Sefdar sisters. If they can beat their Round of 64 opponent, they can give (7) Jade Kawamoto/Andrea Koop some trouble. Look for that Round of 32 upset.
(13) I cannot stress enough how much I like Mari Humberg and Alix Truong's pairing. They have a very favorable draw, and I expect them to upset (3) Etta Wright and Meghan Dizon.
(14) Brooke Buckner and Chao Yi “Zoey” Wang have been playing great together. Zoey is the hottest name in pickleball right now and is capturing a lot of attention. They will face a VERY tough opponent in (19) Bobbi Oshiro/Milan Rane. Whoever wins will face the (4) Lucy and Callie. Either team could upset the No. 4 seed.

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters, (6) Vivienne David/Tina Pisnik, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright, and (9) Parris Todd/Lea Jansen
Finals: Catherine and Anna Leigh beat Rachel and Anna in four games.

Men’s Doubles

Top Storylines

(1) Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson are coming off a quarterfinal loss to Gabe Tardio and Andrei Daescu in Vegas. They will have another tough matchup in the quarters this time around VS (5) Hayden Patriquin and Pablo Tellez.
(4) Dekel Bar and James Ignatowich (teammates on the D.C. Pickleball Team) feature two of the biggest serves on tour. They are playing together and could be affected by the new provisional service rules.
Former undefeated SoCal Hard Eights teammates (23) CJ Klinger and Todd Fought are paired up and should be able to make a run in Atlanta.
(15) Travis Rettenmaier and his new Florida Smash teammate, Donald Young, will play together. This should be a fun pair to watch.

See Full Draw

Tice’s Takes

Dallas guys (21) Noe Khlif and Brandon French are paired up. I like this team to upset (10) Jay Devilliers/Pat Smith in the Round of 32.
I am looking forward to the matchup between (12) Augie Ge/Quang Duong and (7) Tyson McGuffin/Jaume Martinez Vich. I expect the 12 seed to pull off the upset.
(2) Ben and Collin Johns shouldn’t be tested until the quarterfinals, where they will most likely face Gabe Tardio and Andrei Daescu, AKA The Giant Killers. I think Ben and Collin take this one.

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson, (4) James Ignatowich/Dekel Bar, (2) Collin Johns/Ben Johns, and (8) Christian Alshon/Riley Newman.
Finals: Ben and Collin win their first men’s doubles in over four months over JW and Dylan.

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