Vegas Baby! Stakes Are High This Week at the PPA Las Vegas Pickleball Cup

We've reached the final event of four straight tournaments in August on the PPA Tour, as the PPA Las Vegas Cup is being played at a new venue - Fontainebleau Las Vegas. This is the second event in a row held indoors with rollout courts. 

This is a CUP event – worth 1,500 points compared with the normal 1,000 points in Open events – so more is at stake. Additionally, this is a Progressive Draw, which adds to the intrigue.

How to Watch the PPA Las Vegas Pickleball Cup

Order of play

• Tuesday, 8/27 - Round of 64
• Wednesday, 8/28 - Round of 32
• Thursday, 8/29 - Round of 16
• Friday, 8/30 - Quarterfinals
• Saturday, 8/31 - Semifinals
• Sunday, 9/1 - Championship Sunday

I am predicting Anna Leigh Waters wins another Triple Crown – she doesn’t like losing at the marquee events. This week we've added a section called "Upset Candidates" – players I think could get picked off a little earlier than expected.

Women’s singles

Top Storylines

• The top stars are all playing in Las Vegas – (1) ALW, (2) Catherine Parenteau, (3) Lea Jansen, and (4) Brooke Buckner will all be tough outs.
• There are no qualifiers for this event, so the Round of 64 could see some wild results.
• I think (21) Alix Truong has a good chance of at least making the Round of 16.
• The toughest matchup BY FAR in the Round of 32 is (17) Kate Fahey vs. (9) Judit Castillo. They just played each other in the PPA Utah semifinals. 

Upset Candidates

• (25) Milan Rane has the ability to upset (5) Mary Brascia in the Round of 32 and I think she will.
• (15) Zoey Wang is going to give (2) Catherine Parenteau some problems – I believe this is another upset alert. I predict Wang wins it in three.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Brooke Buckner, (7) Kaitlyn Christian, (9) Judit Castillo
• Finals: Anna Leigh Waters beats Judit Castillo for her first gold in this event

Men’s singles

Top Storylines

• Ben Johns is playing in this tournament, but he is NOT playing singles.
• St. Louis Shock teammates (15) Hayden Patriquin and (19) Gabe Tardio could face each other in the Round of 32.
• (3) Tyson McGuffin went down early in Utah. Can he bounce back in Sin City?
• Texas Ranchers teammates (4) Christian Alshon and (5) Quang Duong could face each other in the quarterfinals if they get that far.

Upset Candidates

• (21) Tyler Loong could easily upset his former MLP teammate and fellow Vulcan pro Jay Devilliers (11) in the Round of 32.
• (6) Dylan Frazier has been upset the past couple of tournaments, and I think (12) Gabe Joseph beats him in the Round of 16 to make the quarters.
• (18) Yates Johnson upsets (8) Jaume Martinez Vich in the quarters to reach the semifinals.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Federico Staksrud, (18) Yates Johnson, (2) Connor Garnett, (4) Christian Alshon
• Finals: Federico Staksrud beats Christian Alshon for his SEVENTH gold medal in singles in 2024

Mixed doubles

Top Storylines and Partnerships

• After the purported breakup off the court between Anna Bright and James Ignatowich, they have different mixed doubles partners this week AND could face each other in the semifinals:
  • Christian Alshon and Anna Bright are the No. 2 seed.
  • Vivian Glozman and James Ignatowich are the No. 4 seed (and DC Pickleball Team teammates as well).
• Catherine Parenteau and Riley Newman are playing together and are the No. 6 seed with a first round bye.
• (9) Jessie Irvine and Gabe Tardio have a potentially BRUTAL path back to Championship Sunday after their big title in Utah - Lauren Stratman/Quang Duong, Federico Staksrud/Rachel Rohrabacher, and if they win that? Christian Alshon and Anna Bright in the semis.

Upset Candidates

• The new pairing of (24) Kate Fahey and Jack Sock could be a super dynamic duo and I'm predicting they beat (10) Travis Rettenmaier and Etta Wright pretty handedly in the Round of 32.
• (20) Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson are under-seeded, and I think they take out (6) Riley Newman and Catherine Parenteau in the Round of 32.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Jorja & JW Johnson, (2) Christian Alshon/Anna Bright, (4) Viv Glozman/James Ingatowich - straight chalk
• Finals: Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns take down Christian Alshon and Anna Bright in four games.

Women’s doubles

Top Storylines and Partnerships

• (1) Anna Leigh and Catherine haven’t been threatened in a very long time.
• This is a very small field, especially for a Cup event - there are no qualifiers.
• Anna Bright signed up late for this tournament, so there are some unusual pairings at the top:
  • (4) Jorja Johnson and Rachel Rohrabacher are teaming up for the first time.
  • (2) Tina Pisnik and Anna Bright are teaming up for the first time.

Upset Candidates

• The new pairing of (9) Jessie Irvine and Kaitlyn Christian bring enough firepower that I think they upset (5) Callie Jo Smith and Allyce Jones in the Round of 16.
• I really like the (8) Viv Glozman and Lacy Schneemann duo. The problem is they are in the same part of the bracket as Catherine and Anna Leigh. I think they steal a game off the top seed, but fall short of pulling off the huge upset.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Jorja Johnson/Rachel Rohrabacher, (2) Tina Pisnik/Anna Bright, (7) Hurricane Tyra Black/Parris Todd
• Finals: Catherine and Anna Leigh beat Tina Pisnik and Anna Bright in four games to complete the ALW triple crown.

Men’s doubles

Top Storylines and Partnerships

• Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson are once again the No. 1 seed, while Ben and Collin Johns are the No. 2 seed.
• Typo in graphic - the No. 7 seed is actually Zane Navratil and Dekel Bar
• James Ignatowich entered the draw late and decided to play with his friend from Vanderbilt Tennis, Max Freeman. They are the No. 12 seed.

Upset Candidates

• (23) Michael Loyd and John Cincola make a formidable duo and I could see them upsetting (14) Julian Arnold and Blaine Hovenier in the Round of 32.

• (20) Todd Fought and Patrick Kawka are going to upset (13) Travis Rettenmaier and Augie Ge in the Round of 32.
• Not a huge upset, but (6) Christian Alshon and Riley Newman are going to beat Ben and Collin Johns in the quarterfinals.
• Out of all the qualifiers, I think the No. 40 seed Cason Campbell and Dave Bacalla have the best chance of a first-round upset over (28) Luke Wasson and Jonny Pickleball Andrews.

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier, (8) Connor Garnett/Tyler Loong, (6) Christian Alshon/Riley Newman, (4) Hayden Patriquin/Pablo Tellez
• Finals: JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier exact some revenge on Hayden and Pablo for another win in 2024