The APP wraps up its three-week run of tournaments in the seaside town of Avalon, New Jersey, with the Sunmed New Jersey Open. After all, what better way to wrap up an exciting stretch of the tournament schedule than by partying on the Jersey Shore?
Men’s Pro Singles – Hunter Johnson vs. Eduardo Irizarry
Despite his absence from the APP Chicago Open, Hunter Johnson returned to the APP in full form for this tournament. He dominated his side of the bracket without dropping a single game and then went on to defeat Eduardo Irizarry in the finals.
Irizarry also had his best tournament run in singles this year. He cruised through his side of the bracket without dropping a game, and even earned a win in game one against Johnson in the semis.
Hunter’s brother, Yates Johnson, also had a great showing in singles. Even though he got knocked out in the round of 8 by Richard Livornese Jr., Yates cruised through the consolation bracket to earn himself a bronze medal.
Women’s Pro Singles – Salome Devidze vs. Megan Fudge
The number one women’s singles player in the APP, Salome Devidze, continues to be unstoppable. Not only did she win the tournament without dropping a game, but she also managed to shut down every single opponent by not allowing more than 4 points scored on her per game.
Megan Fudge continues to secure her second-place spot but still doesn’t quite have what it takes to defeat Devidze and withdrew from the competition before the finals. Parris Todd also withdrew due to an injury after defeating Chao Yi Wang in the round of 16.
Keep an eye out for Wang – she’s one of Asia’s best players hailing from Taiwan and recently earned four gold medals at the Asia Pickleball Open 2023. We expect to start seeing big things from her in the PPA, as she just signed a deal to exclusively play with them next year.
Mixed Pro Doubles – Harris/Johnson vs. Barr/Daescu
The top two teams in mixed made their way to the finals, but not without some surprises. After Parris Todd’s injury on Friday, Allison Harris stepped in as Hunter Johnson’s replacement partner, and together they dominated their side of the bracket without dropping a single game.
Harris and Johnson even defeated 1-seeds Andrei Daescu and Susannah Barr in the semifinals in just two games. However, in the finals, Daescu and Barr managed to win two out of the three games, pushing the finals to a 15-point tiebreaker, which they won (15-10). This marks Daescu and Barr’s third gold medal in the past four tournaments, and they won’t be slowing down anytime soon!
While Johnson will certainly partner back up with Todd once she’s healthy, we expect Harris’s newfound success to make her a popular doubles partner option moving forward due to her success in mixed and women’s at the New Jersey Open.
Women’s Pro Doubles – Harris/Jardim vs. Truong/Glozman
Speaking of Harris’ success in New Jersey, she also won her first gold medal in women’s doubles alongside Simone Jardim. The two took down Alix Truong and Vivian Glozman in a swift, 2-game finals match, where they only allowed 5 points total (11-2, 11-3).
Truong and Glozman had an incredible run too, fighting their way out of the consolation bracket and taking down the duo of Megan Fudge and Susannah Barr to secure their spot in the finals. Both Glozman and Truong have proved their talent this year, including an incredible gold medal performance together at the Chicago Open.
Men’s Pro Doubles – Daescu/Nunnery vs. Johnson/Johnson
Men’s doubles saw the classic matchup of Andrei Daescu and Rob Nunnery taking on the Johnson brothers. It feels like we are guaranteed to see one of these teams in the finals every week, and when we get to see them both, you know we are in for an absolute battle.
This time around, Nunnery and Daescu came out on top, taking down Hunter and Yates in two games in the semis (12-10, 11-9) and two games in the finals (11-3, 11-7).
Jayden Broderick and Vinicius Da Silva make a name for themselves by taking home the bronze medal. Keep an eye out for the young gun Broderick; at just 17 years old, he has a 5.95 DUPR rating in doubles and is sponsored by Gamma.
