The locals’ enthusiasm for the 2024 Selkirk Red Rock Open was unquestionable, and it was on show in spades here. However, the location’s remoteness and small size did lead to board and lodging problems.
Indeed, some players sat this one out. Rather famously, Anna Leigh Waters did just that last year, leading to Megan Dizon and Etta Wright taking the Women’s Pro doubles gold medal. Even now, that gold is the only one Dizon has ever won, while it’s Etta’s only Women’s Pro doubles medal of any color.
Luckily, there was no repeat of last year’s “Paddlegate” when Tyson McGuffin’s paddle failed an on-site test after he’d won gold in singles and men’s doubles.
Women’s Pro Singles
The Women’s Pro Singles draw also saw some early round shocks before settling into the expected names competing on Sunday. #30 Vivian Glozman, missing for most of the season, shocked #3 Judit Castillo in the opener and then crushed #28 Michelle Esquivel to make the quarters. #25 Nicole Eugenio also took out two higher seeds (#7 Liz Trulock in the opener and then #18 Alix Truong in the 16s) to make it two 20+ seeds into the quarters. Neither woman could advance from there, but two great showings for sure.
#1 Mary Brascia, who has held the #1 seed in this draw for most of the month in the absence of the tour’s two top players, finally lived up to the seed and advanced to the gold medal match on Sunday. She was in control all day Thursday, trouncing early-round opponents and then holding firm in the semis against last week’s Bronze medalist #6 Kaitlyn Christian, 4,8, to secure a place in the final.
Meanwhile, #2 Lea Jansen blew through the bottom half of the draw, handing out doughnuts in the 32s, the 16s, and against Jorja Johnson in the semis en route to a dominant 4,0 win to secure the gold medal match.
In the final, Brascia finally broke through to win her first PPA gold medal with a back-and-forth battle over Jansen. Christian took the bronze, her fourth medal of 2024, and she continues to move up the rankings.
Gold: Mary Brascia. Silver: Lea Jansen. Bronze: Kaitlyn Christian.
Men’s Pro Singles
Federico Staksrud has solidified his position as the top-ranked player on the tour. He navigated his way through formidable opponents in the upper echelons of the draw, securing his place in the Men’s Pro Singles gold medal match for the ninth consecutive time in 2024. His journey saw victories over notable adversaries such as #27 Blake Hovenier, #14 Rafa Hewett, #12 Collin Shick, and the defending champion #3 Tyson McGuffin, whom he narrowly defeated in the semi-final by 8,10.
His adversary in the championship clash was none other than #11 Jack Sock, who, despite his absence in recent weeks, made a resounding return and earned his inaugural singles gold medal match appearance on the tour.
Sock commenced his day with a dominant victory over #24 Michael Loyd in the round of 32, followed by an impressive triumph against #8 Quang Duong in the round of 16. His journey continued with wins over #13 Hayden Patriquin in the quarters and #4 Christian Alshon in the semi-finals, culminating in a well-deserved spot in the finals.
As Forbes.com pointed out, The narrative of this draw was punctuated by a plethora of early-round upsets of top seeds and the advancement of numerous 30+ and 40+ seeded players deep into the bracket. Noteworthy upsets included #36 Rio Newcombe’s stunning victory over #7 Jaume Martinez Vich and #40 Noe Khlif’s triumph over #6 Dylan Frazier, followed by a quarter-final berth after defeating #10 Jay Devilliers as a 40+ seed.
Additionally, #13 Patriquin’s upset victory over last week’s gold medalist #2 Connor Garnett and #33 Zane Navratil’s impressive run, which included wins over #5 JW Johnson and #9 Pablo Tellez, further emphasized the unpredictable nature of the Men’s Singles draw.
Spectators witnessed a riveting back-and-forth encounter in the showdown between Staksrud and Sock. After splitting the first two games decisively, Federico surged ahead to claim victory in the third game, securing the gold medal with a final score of 3,(2),7.
Gold: Federico Staksrud. Silver: Jack Sock. Bronze: Christian Alshon.
Mixed Pro Doubles
The culmination of the Mixed Pro Doubles final saw the expected clash between the top two seeds, but the journey to this showdown was far from straightforward.
Throughout the week’s event, we saw a series of notable upsets unfold.
Notable early shocks included Mari Humberg and Augustus Ge, seeded at #29, defeating #3 Jorja Johnson and Federico Staksrud in the round of 32, and #30 Liz Trulock and Mo Alhouni besting #4 Ivy Tschetter and Rob Cassidy.
The latter matchup raised eyebrows, prompting speculation about the seeding rationale.
The trend of surprises continued with #31 Cass Hoag and Anderson Scarpa stunning #5 Tina Pisnik and Dekel Bar, who had recently appeared in consecutive gold medal matches. As we pointed out in our preview, the altitude seemed to play a role in these unexpected outcomes.
These upsets paved the way for Alix Truong and Connor Garnett at #16 and Martina Frantova and Andrei Daescu at #19. Truong and Garnett secured a commendable victory over #7 Lea Jansen and Hayden Patriquin in the quarters before bowing out to the formidable duo of #1 Ben Johns and Etta Wright in the semis.
Similarly, Frantova and Daescu navigated past the upset specialists from the bottom half to reach the semis, where they faced a tough challenge from #2 Anna Bright and James Ignatowich, with Ignatowich returning from a hiatus due to a shoulder injury.
In the final, Ignatowich and Bright clinched a hard-fought victory in the opening game. However, Johns and Wright rallied back, securing consecutive wins in games 2 and 3 before dominating game four with an emphatic 11-1 victory, ultimately claiming the gold.
Gold: Wright and Johns. Silver: Bright and Ignatowich. Bronze: Truong and Garnett.
Women’s Pro Doubles Recap
The dominant pairing of Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher took a week off due to Rohrabacher’s absence. Stepping in for Rohrabacher, Bright partnered with Callie Smith, hailing from Utah. Smith’s regular teammate, Lucy Kovalova, was absent for reasons previously stated.
Bright had that winning touch yet again, and she and Smith went all the way to the final, although it wasn’t easy. In a spirited semifinal, they clashed with Hurricane Tyra Black and Allyce Jones, with the match appearing to sway in favor of Black and Jones for much of the deciding third game before Bright and Smith wrested control at the crucial time.
Meanwhile, the lower bracket saw #4 ranked Lea Jansen and Tina Pisnik making waves. Dominating with four consecutive wins, they conceded a mere 17 points in total, culminating in a decisive victory over #7 ranked Tamaryn Emmrich and Lina Padegimaite in the semifinals. Pisnik has had a string of successes on the tour recently, and she wasn’t going to let another opportunity for a medal slip out of her grasp.
In the final, Jansen and Pisnik’s relentless teamwork, strategically dominating one side of the court, clinched a well-deserved gold with scores of 1, 7, 7. This victory marks Jansen’s first Women’s pro doubles gold medal since October 2022, while it represents Pisnik’s inaugural PPA gold triumph.
Gold: Pisnik and Jansen. Silver: Bright and Smith. Bronze: Black and Jones.
Men’s Pro Doubles Recap
The unexpected withdrawal of #6 Jay Devilliers and Patrick Smith paved the way for an impressive quarterfinal run by #38 Noe Khlif and Robert Slutsky in the top half of the draw.
However, amidst the tournament’s narratives, the standout storyline emerged elsewhere. #9 Andrei Daescu and Gabriel Tardio, consistent performers in recent months with notable victories, including triumphs over the Johns brothers earlier in the season, delivered another stunning upset.
Despite an initial 11-1 defeat in the first game of their semifinal, Daescu and Tardio rallied to secure a tense 13-11 victory in the second game, setting the stage for a decisive third game. Their remarkable performance culminated in an astonishing 11-0 win over the top-seeded Johns brothers, a truly once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence.
Daescu and Tardio’s aggressive style proved effective against the Johns brothers, who have a preference for prolonged rallies in which they can sniff out errors and exploit them.
The lower half of the draw followed a more predictable trajectory, with #10 Tyler Loong and Jaume Martinez Vich reaching the quarterfinals before succumbing to #2 Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson.
#12 CJ Klinger and DJ Young made a spirited effort in the round of 16 against #7 Hayden Patriquin and Callan Dawson, narrowly falling 12-10 in the third game. Nonetheless, the top seeds maintained their dominance, advancing smoothly to the semifinals. There, #2 Frazier and Johnson overcame #4 Tyson McGuffin and Dekel Bar to secure their spot in the final.
The championship match featured a familiar matchup: Frazier and Johnson faced off against Daescu and Tardio once again, a rivalry that has seen Frazier and Johnson typically emerge victorious. This trend continued as Frazier and Johnson claimed the gold in three straight games, with two closely contested games bookending a decisive blowout in game two. Frazier and Johnson secured the victory with scores of 11-1, 11-9.
Gold: Frazier and Johnson. Silver: Daescu and Tardio. Bronze: McGuffin and Bar
Senior Open Competition
It’s been 18 months since a PPA event featured a Women’s Senior Open/Pro singles competition and nine since the last Women’s Senior Pro Doubles draw. Only one Mixed Senior Doubles draw has been played in 2024. However, it was in Lakeville and did not feature any leading pros.
#1 Thomas Yeh cruised to the Men’s Senior Pro Singles title without conceding a game.
#1 Scott Johnston and John Hedberg dominated the Men’s Senior Pro Doubles competition.
Epilog
Click here to see the PickleballBrackets.com tournament details.
Todd Boss of Forbes’ Pro Pickleball Medal Tracker is a history of all the major pro tours, plus pro events that predated 2020.
Next up is an SPT event in Colorado and a USAP golden ticket event in Texas.
The following weekend, MLP returns to action with its first event of 2024, while the APP will be in Cincinnati. Life Time’s Peachtree Corners in Atlanta will host the year’s second PPA Grand Slam on the weekend of May 17-19.
