Gender doubles day at the CIBC PPA Finals was arguably the most competitive Saturday we have seen on the PPA Tour this year. Over half of the pool play matches went to three games which led to lots of high-pressure points and players fighting for everything as point differential can often mean the difference between going home or advancing to the semifinals. Let’s get into the best matches of the day and see who came out on top to make it to Championship Sunday.
Men’s Doubles Championship: Johns/Johns vs Newman/Wilson
In Pool A the Johns brothers dropped two games to Arnold/Koller and McGuffin/Bar but ultimately survived. They also defeated Ignatowich/Wright 9 & 4 to the clinch the #1 seed in the playoff bracket. The other semifinal spot came down to point differential as all the other three teams ended up with a 1-2 record. Ignatowich/Wright played their three matches the tightest and advanced.
In Pool B we saw three teams end up with a 2-1 record but it was surprisingly JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier who were left out based on point differential. A heartbreaker for the second-best men’s doubles team on the year as they lost a three-game battle to Newman/Wilson and won a back-and-forth thriller against Staksrud/Tellez, a match where they saved four match points before clinching it 13-11. Newman/Wilson were the top team in the group and Staksrud/Tellez grabbed the other spot.
In the semifinals the Johns brothers took down Staksrud/Tellez 5 &1 while Newman and Wilson defeated Wright/Ignatowich 7 & 8. Wright/Ignatowich were able to jump out in front 5-0 in both games but the Riley Newman was able to win the majority of the hands battles with Matt Wright down the stretch to seal the victory.
Women’s Doubles Championship: Waters/Parenteau vs Bright/David
Waters & Parenteau did not drop a game in pool play or in their semifinal match. Teams often can stay with them for a game but once they get ahead and lock up game 1 it’s nearly impossible to beat them. The other semifinalist in this pool was Allyce Jones and Etta Wright who took down Johnson/Dizon and Irvine/Schneemann both in three games to end up 2-1.
Pool B was much more competitive as the last semifinal spot came down to the match between Bright/David and Jansen/Jade Kawamoto. It was a marathon three game match on grandstand that came down to the final few points but Bright/David escaped to go 3-0. That left Jansen/Kawamoto at 1-2 and in 3rd place while Kovalova/Smith grabbed the final spot.
Waters/Parenteau will match up with Bright/David in Sunday’s final as Bright/David capped off the night with a convincing win over Jones/Wright 4 & 4. If anyone has a chance to test the best women’s doubles team in pro pickleball right now it’s Anna Bright and Vivienne David so make sure to tune in to tomorrow’s final to catch all the action.
Sunday’s Finals Lineup
Men’s Singles: Ben Johns vs Christian Alshon
Women’s Singles: Anna Leigh Waters vs Catherine Parenteau
Mixed Doubles: Johns/Waters vs Johnson/Johnson
Men’s Doubles: Johns/Johns vs Newman/Wilson
Women’s Doubles: Waters/Parenteau vs Bright/David
