The PPA Tour makes its way down to Newport Beach, CA this weekend for an all-doubles tournament. Hosted at the Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach, the Newport Beach Doubles Shootout will start Friday, April 21st with mixed doubles and run through Championship Sunday, April 23rd.
With no singles bracket, this is the first doubles-only PPA event this year. Since we’ll be focusing solely on the excitement of doubles, let’s take a look at teams that we think will stand out in the competition!
Mixed Doubles
Andrea Koop and Ben Johns are going to be an absolute powerhouse team this weekend. This will be their second time teaming up in the PPA, and the team made a name for themselves as a team by winning the first ever MLP event together.
Pickleball’s favorite couple, James Ignatowich and Anna Bright are going into this weekend confident after winning their first finals together at the PPA Red Rock Open. On the opposite side of the bracket, keep an eye out for a couple other new teams: Dylan Frazier and Mary Brascia, and Allyce Jones and Riley Newman.
Men’s Doubles
The Johns brothers are back together again! Ben Johns was absent at Red Rock, leaving his brother Collin Johns to team up with Dekel Bar for a silver medal finish.
The brothers are undefeated when playing together this year, making them a force to be reckoned with this weekend. In the Johns’ bracket, look out for the duo of JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier who have been dominant together, and even took home the gold back at the PPA Indoor National Championships.
On the other side of the bracket, we have Matt Wright and Riley Newman back together. The duo is known for being one of the best men’s doubles teams in all of pickleball, but they’ve got some serious competition leading up to the finals.
Keep an eye out for Tyson McGuffin and James Ignatowich who are also reuniting this weekend. Both of them are coming off of amazing performances at Red Rock, with McGuffin taking home gold in men’s singles and doubles, and Ignatowich taking home the gold in mixed singles.
Women’s Doubles
Both Catherine Parenteau and Anna Leigh Waters will be absent from this competition, so who will rise to the occasion and take home the gold? There are several duos that we think have a shot!
Allyce Jones and Lea Jansen have made 5 podium finishes on the PPA Tour this year, with their most recent silver medal at the PPA Red Rock Open, but still haven’t been able to take home the gold. Jansen and Jones are two of the best women’s doubles players on the tour right now, and their consistent success makes them a favorite at Newport.
Etta Wright and Meghan Dizon won at Red Rock together, but both will be teaming up with someone else this weekend. Dizon will be paired up with Irina Tereschenko who’s been playing incredibly this year and is on the cusp of breaking into the top 10 for women’s doubles players. Wright will be partnering up with Jessie Irvine for the first time, so it’ll be interesting to see if any newfound chemistry can bring them to the top.
How to Watch
For those of you watching from home, the PPA Tour live streams all of their events through their YouTube channel, and the mixed doubles final match will be broadcast live on CBS National on Saturday, April 22 from 1-2pm ET.
If you’re in the Newport Beach area this weekend, tickets are available through the PPA Tour website. There are three tiers of tickets, Grounds Pass, Courtside Pass, and VIP Pass, all of which will allow you access to the tournament grounds.
