A historic weekend for pickleball wrapped up today as Team Querrey hoisted the PPA Bubly Las Vegas Championship trophy inside the lively Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Team Querrey’s roster consisted of Sam Querrey, Lucy Kovalova, Meghan Dizon, Allyce Jones, Riley Newman, Collin Johns and Pat Smith. The team pulled through a very tough final matchup against Team Isner, which was represented by John Isner, Jessie Irvine, Lea Jansen, Lindsey Newman, Ben Johns, AJ Koller and Steve Deakin.
Upsets were the story of this morning’s semifinals round, as top-seeded Team Sock (led by Tyson McGuffin) fell to fourth-seeded Team Isner and second-seeded Team Young fell to third-seeded Team Querrey.
In the Championship, Team Querrey won two out of three events to secure the title. In men’s doubles, Collin Johns & Sam Querrey defeated AJ Koller & John Isner 10-11, 11-6, 5-3. Team Isner then pulled one back, as Lea Jansen & Lindsey Newman secured a win in three games against Meghan Dizon & Lucy Kovalova 11-9, 10-11, 5-4. Finally, in a winner-take-all mixed doubles match, Team Querrey decided to send Allyce Jones and Riley Newman to the court, whilst Team Isner opted for Jessie Irvine and Ben Johns. Jones & R. Newman defeated Irvine & Johns by a razor thin margin 11-7, 9-11, 5-4.
The big performance from Team Querrey on Sunday concluded what has been a massive event for exposure of pickleball and the world-class athletes that compete on the PPA Tour. Today's Championship was competitive and thrilling from start to finish, and and the final mixed doubles set came all the way down to the wire live on ABC.
In what has been a busy year for the PPA Tour and the development of professional pickleball, this important event was an excellent way to cap off the growth of the sport in 2022 as well as to set the tone for what will be another groundbreaking year in 2023. The PPA Tour returns January 12-15 at the Hyundai Masters from Rancho Mirage, California.
