After a month-long break, the PPA Tour is back this weekend to start up the second half of the season at the Gates Tennis Center in Denver, CO. With the absence of many of the tour’s top players, including Tyson McGuffin, Catherine Parenteau, JW Johnson, and Riley Newman, this will likely open up opportunities to see some exciting new matchups on Championship Sunday.
Top Players to Watch For:
- Of course, it goes without saying at this point, Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters will be on the hunt for another set of triple crowns. With the field slightly thinned out in all events, there’s a good chance they make a run for it.
- The partnership of Riley Newman and Matt Wright has ended, and for his first tournament since the announcement, Matt Wright will be partnering up with Dylan Frazier. Both are top men’s doubles players, and it’ll be interesting to see how they do together on the same side of the court.
- Callie Jo Smith is out for this event, allowing for the exciting team of Lea Jansen and Lucy Kovalova. If anyone’s going to stop ALW and Anna Bright, it will probably be them.
Women’s Singles
In women’s singles, all eyes will be on Anna Leigh Waters to see if she can get yet another gold medal. This year she’s been entirely unstoppable, with her most recent performance at the PPA Orange County Cup resulting in a 2-0 win over Catherine Parenteau.
However, several other top players are registered that we think could take the top spot instead. At the top of our list is Lea Jansen, who’s currently ranked in third place in the PPA. With Catherine Parenteau out of the competition this week, as well as her incredible finals match against ALW in Texas, we think this might be the week Jansen claims gold in singles.
Men’s Singles
Men’s singles is always a toss-up with how huge the main draw usually is, and this week is no different. While Ben Johns is still the favorite going into the weekend, you never know when an underdog like Jaume Martinez Vich or Collin Shick will rise to the occasion.
With Tyson McGuffin and JW Johnson out of the mix, we’re looking at Federico Staksrud and Connor Garnett as our other favorites this weekend. Connor took silver at the Orange County Cup and is coming off of a massive win at the MLP Super Finals, and Fed is still holding onto a 2nd place ranking in men’s singles this year.
Mixed Doubles
Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns are unstoppable this year, making them favorites again this weekend. Outside of the number one spot, there are several teams that we might also see on Championship Sunday.
Anna Bright and Dylan Frazier are our favorites this weekend by far. With James Ignatowich taking this tournament off, Bright teams up with Frazier, a dominant force in men’s doubles alongside JW Johnson. No matter what, the Bright-Frazier duo will be a fun pairing to watch out for this weekend!
Men’s Doubles
We think that men’s doubles has serious potential for excitement this weekend. Ben and Collin Johns are one of the top teams this year, with their most recent win at the Orange County Cup over Matt Wright and Riley Newman.
Starting this weekend, Wright will no longer partner with Newman, ending one of the longest and top partnerships in men’s doubles history. Now, Wright is partnering up with Dylan Frazier, whose typical partner, JW Johnson, is also taking the weekend off. It’ll be interesting to see who leads this new pairing.
Julian Arnold and Thomas Wilson are also partnered up and riding the high of winning in the MLP Super Finals together on the LA Mad Drops. They’ve been a solid team all year long, bringing incredible energy to the MLP. We’d love to see them make a podium finish in Denver.
Women’s Doubles
With CP taking July off, we see the return of the Annas. Anna Leigh Waters partners up with Anna Bright, and they’re currently undefeated when playing together this year.
Other strong teams include Lea Jansen and Lucy Kovalova, and Etta Wright and Jessie Irvine. Kovalova’s usual partner, Callie Jo Smith, is out for this event, allowing her to team up with Lea Jansen. Kovalova and Jansen are strong doubles players but haven’t seen a finals match in months, so we’d love to see them on Championship Sunday.
There’s a lot of potential in the team of Irvine and Wright, who are making their debut appearance together in Denver. Wright found success alongside Meghan Dizon at last month’s Texas Open, earning a silver medal, and Irvine was clutch in MLP San Clemente alongside Mary Brascia.
