Last week’s event in South Florida marked a significant milestone for the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) as it attracted widespread attention, drawing a full house for its national broadcasts on ESPN2 and ESPN+ of the Chase APP Miami Pickleball Open’s five Championship Sunday matches and the inaugural Atlantic Cup.
Over 1,200 pickleball enthusiasts of various age groups and skill levels converged at the Miami Beach Convention Center to see the tournament’s elite contenders vie for top honors on Championship Court and their slice of the impressive $150,000 prize pool.
The state talent was well in evidence as players like ‘Hurricane’ Tyra Black from Delray Beach, Megan Fudge representing Belleair, and JW Johnson alongside Jorja Johnson, both hailing from Boynton Beach, secured gold medals. Milan Rane from Boca Raton also clinched victory in the women’s doubles.
Among the standout performers, 23-year-old Dylan Frazier stood out, claiming two gold medals, while Hunter Johnson capped off a stellar performance with a well-deserved gold of his own.
Chase APP Miami Pickleball Open
Mixed Pro Doubles
Championship Sunday action kicked off with mixed pro doubles, featuring Black and Frazier against Fudge and Andrei Daescu. Making their debut together in an APP Tour gold medal match, Black and Frazier surged ahead with an 11-4 victory in game one. Despite a resilient effort from Fudge and Daescu in game two, Black and Frazier closed the match out with a narrow 12-10 win.
Meanwhile, Jorja Johnson and Gabriel Tardio secured the bronze medals in mixed pro doubles.
“I’m feeling amazing,” Black said following the triumph. It’s so awesome to play with Dylan. We’ve played a few times together, so it was nice to get a lot of reps in a lot of matches. It was a great experience, and mixed doubles is my favorite event, so it was so much fun to win that gold out there for the first time.”
Men’s Pro Doubles
The excitement continued with the men’s pro doubles showdown, with Frazier and JW Johnson facing off against Ryler DeHeart and Will Howells. Frazier and Johnson made short work of their opponents, sweeping to victory with scores of 11-3 and 11-3.
This win marked Frazier’s first APP Tour gold medal since 2022, while Johnson claimed his second of 2024. Meanwhile, Erik Lange and Max Manthou secured the bronze in men’s pro doubles.
“It was awesome competing in Miami alongside my partners Tyra and JW,” shared Frazier. “It was a great environment to play in. Chase and the APP put on an excellent event!”
Women’s Pro Doubles
The spotlight then shifted to the women’s pro doubles final, featuring Rane and the new kid on the block, Jorja Johnson, against Fudge and Susannah Barr. Johnson and Rane’s strong teamplay helped them to a hard-fought 11-8 victory in game one, followed by a commanding 11-1 win in game two to secure the gold. Mari Humberg and Alix Truong claimed the bronze.
“Our mentality was just to stick together as a team, keep communicating and keep working together,” remarked Jorja Johnson gratefully. “Thank you so much to our coaches, our trainer, and the fans for cheering us on. We’re really grateful to be out here.”
“Susannah and Megan have a great game, but we came up with a game plan to neutralize them and stuck to it,” added Rane.
Men’s Pro Singles
In the men’s pro singles gold medal match, Hunter Johnson overcame first-time finalist Grayson Goldin with scores of 15-13 and 15-8. Jack Foster secured the bronze in men’s pro singles.
Women’s Pro Singles
The final showdown of Championship Sunday featured Fudge battling against Jenna Hessert for women’s pro singles gold. In a thrilling back-and-forth encounter, Fudge won out with a pair of 15-13 wins, securing her first gold medal of 2024. Bobbi Oshiro claimed the bronze in women’s pro singles.
“I’m fortunate to be coming home with gold,” expressed Fudge. “I took a timeout to stall [Jenna] and give myself a breather. I just reset it, went back after it and got the gold. Credit to Jenna, she played amazing and had a fantastic tournament.”
APP Atlantic Cup
Running alongside the Chase APP Miami Pickleball Open was the first-ever APP Atlantic Cup, a landmark occasion showcasing Team USA against Team Europe in the premier international team pickleball event.
Following a series of intense showdowns over two days, Team Europe held a 4-2 advantage. However, facing a daunting deficit, Team USA mounted a remarkable comeback on Sunday, securing three consecutive victories.
The pivotal moment arrived when Ava Kalist and Richard Livornese, Jr., sealed the title as Atlantic Cup Champions with a decisive win in mixed doubles.
Read our article for the background to the event and the two squad rosters.
AARP Champions And Masters Pro Action
The AARP Champions Division (50+) matches in Miami saw Lee Whitwell and Jaime Oncins clinch two gold medals. Mark Palus emerged victorious in men’s singles, while Dana Wiatroski secured the women’s singles gold.
In the AARP Masters Division (60+) contests, Connie Burnett and Jenny Reifeis claimed the women’s doubles title. Scott Moore and F.D. Wilder secured the men’s doubles gold, and Kristin Hickman and David Spearman triumphed in mixed doubles, taking home the coveted gold medal.
Pro Winners And Full Tournament Results
The tables below show all the pro winners and full tournament results are available here. The APP’s next event is the APP Vlasic Classic at Delray Beach on April 3-7.
More information about upcoming APP events—including APP Tour dates, player registration and ticket information—is available on theapp.global.
Pickleball enthusiasts can also stay informed by following the app on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, and LinkedIn.
Full Results
APP Pro Results
| Division | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Women’s Singles | Megan Fudge | Jenna Hessert | Bobbi Oshiro |
| Men’s Singles | Hunter Johnson | Grayson Goldin | Jack Foster |
| Mixed Doubles | ‘Hurricane’ Tyra Black and Dylan Frazier | Megan Fudge and Andrei Daescu | Jorja Johnson and Gabriel Tardio |
| Women’s Doubles | Jorja Johnson and Milan Rane | Susannah Barr and Megan Fudge | Mari Humberg and Alix Truong |
| Men’s Doubles | Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson | Ryler DeHeart and Will Howells | Erik Lange and Max Manthou |
AARP Champions Division Results
| Division | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men’s Singles | Mark Palus | Steve Rogers | Mircea Morariu |
| “Women’s Singles” | Dana Wiatroski | Karin Ptaszek-Kochis | Lu Curiel |
| Women’s Doubles | Angela Simon and Lee Whitwell | Christie Domoracki and Pam Ruoff | Sheri Courter and Christine Karges |
| Men’s Doubles | Altaf Merchant and Jaime Oncins | Mircea Morariu and Paul Olin | Jose Derisi and John Sperling |
| Mixed Doubles | Lee Whitwell and Jaime Oncins | Angela Simon and Dan Granot | Christine Karges and Mircea Morariu |
AARP Masters Division Results
| Division | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Women’s Doubles | Connie Burnett & Jenny Reifeis | Pam Gilbert & Sue Johnston | Kristin Hickman & Linda Thompson |
| Men’s Doubles | Scott Moore & F.D. Wilder | John Moorin & David Spearman | Andrew Biederman & Joey Brandes |
| Mixed Doubles | Kristin Hickman & David Spearman | Linda Thompson & Scott Moore | Connie Burnett & Todd Headley |
