With about 1,500 registered players, the PPA Selkirk Texas Open is the largest tournament in PPA Tour history. All your favorite pros make their way to the beautiful Oasis Tennis Club just outside of Dallas in Rockwall, TX.
Anna Leigh Waters is on the hunt for the first ever PPA Triple Triple, as she’s triple-crowned her last two tournaments, JW Johnson has a shot at defending his first gold medal in men’s singles, and the Newman siblings are back together in mixed. There’s a lot to get excited about, so let’s break down each event!
Men’s Singles
JW Johnson is looking to go back-to-back with gold medals after earning his first at the Atlanta Open; however, the field is as tight as it’s ever been, with the top 13 players in men’s singles all being registered to play. Beyond JW, there are plenty of other players we think have a shot at taking home the gold.
Tyson McGuffin won at last year’s Texas Open, taking down the undefeated Ben Johns in the finals. McGuffin’s been on fire this year after bouncing back from a foot injury. There’s a chance that McGuffin will meet JW in the quarterfinals, likely leading to an intense match against the 1-seed Ben Johns in the semis.
On the other side of the bracket, we’ve got the 2-seed Federico Staksrud, who had a huge gold medal finish at the North Carolina Open. We’d like to see him go up against APP star Yates Johnson in the semis, as Johnson has been locked in these last few APP tournaments.
Women’s Singles
Not only is Anna Leigh on the hunt for a Triple Triple, but she’s also looking for her 25th career gold medal in women’s singles. She is the winningest pro pickleball player in singles for the PPA, and it doesn’t look like anything is stopping her now.
On the other side of the bracket, we think a couple of contenders have a good shot of meeting Waters in the finals. Our favorites are Irina Tereschenko and Judit Castillo.
Tereschenko is ranked number 5 in women’s singles, but has yet to earn a gold medal this season. Castillo has been considered a rising star since earning her first-ever gold medal at the APP Sacramento Open last month.
Mixed Doubles
To no one’s surprise, the Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns duo is our favorite in mixed doubles going into the weekend. The two won gold at the Atlanta Open and now have over 80 match wins together, making them the most successful partnership in the league.
However, we also see several other pairings that have a shot at gold, and our favorites also happen to be siblings: JW and Jorja Johnson and Riley and Lindsey Newman.
The Newman siblings are back together for the first time since the Austin Showdown, where they were knocked out of the quarterfinals by Jorja and JW. The Johnsons got their first gold medal together at the Newport Beach Doubles Shootout and have been a solid team in mixed ever since.
Men’s Doubles
Plain and simple: If JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier wear the cow pants during the Texas Open, it’s game over. Jokes aside, the two have been so fun to watch since their gold medal finish in Newport Beach, and we expect them to turn up again this weekend.
We’ve also got the pairing of James Ignatowich and Tyson McGuffin. Papa Jimmy and Papa Tyson have been grinding hard this season in all of their events – will this be the one where they finally come together and take home the gold?
Women’s Doubles
Catherine Parenteau and Anna Leigh Waters have partnered back up once again, and they are absolutely our favorites this weekend. Together, the two have been unbeatable this season, and Parenteau is on the hunt for her 10th gold in women’s doubles.
We’ve also got our eyes on Atlanta Open women’s doubles silver medalist Jorja Johnson who will now be paired up with Judit Castillo. Alongside Vivienne David, Johnson took down some of the top teams in pickleball, including the duo of Callie Smith and Lucy Kovalova and the Brascia sisters.
It’ll be interesting to see how Jorja does with Castillo, who has been on the rise in singles and looking to prove herself in doubles. Castillo was also just drafted by the D.C. Pickleball Team during the MLP Challenger Level Shuffle Draft.
