After last weekend’s Atlanta Metro Open, the APP returns to its back-to-back tournament scheduling by heading to Dallas, Texas! The tournament kicked off today with the men’s pro qualifiers, as well as with the AARP Masters Pro Mixed Doubles and amateur men’s and women’s doubles.
Starting tomorrow, we’ll be jumping right into some APP Tour pro pickleball action! Last weekend we saw some exciting new developments in singles, with Megan Fudge and Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez earning their first gold medals for the season. This weekend, we’re hoping to see things start to shift in doubles; however, Andrei Daescu might have something to say about that.
Men’s Pro Singles
In men’s singles, we again have to Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez on his big win at last weekend’s Atlanta Metro Open. He’s been a standout player all year, now with five medals total, and it’s great to see his hard work finally pay off with a gold!
While he’s set to defend his title in Dallas, he will face some tough competition in Dallas, including the Johnson brothers, with Hunter returning to singles. Yates recently took gold in Philly, and Hunter will be eager to prove himself once again after the time off from singles, so expect big things out of the Johnsons.
Women’s Pro Singles
Megan Fudge stood out from the competition in Atlanta with her big win in women’s singles and yet another gold medal finish in women’s doubles with Susannah Barr. Fudge has been one of the top women’s competitors on tour this season, earning herself 21 total medals – making her the winningest women’s player on the APP Tour.
Of course, we’d love to see a rematch of the rivals between Fudge and Salome Devidze, who has repeatedly taken the gold from Fudge this year. The two have ongoing beef, making each of their matchups incredibly high-intensity and entertaining to watch.
A seemingly more positive rivalry has formed between Fudge and Judit Castillo, one of the APP’s rising stars. Castillo earned a silver in Atlanta against Fudge and will be looking for redemption in Texas!
Mixed Pro Doubles
At this point, we’ve all come to completely adore Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson’s partnership, both on and off the court. The two dominated in Atlanta, earning themselves yet another gold medal together.
Of course, we expect to see them face off in a rematch against Andrei Daescu and Susannah Barr, who have achieved six gold medals together so far this year. Daescu is the winningest athlete on the tour right now, with 23 total medals so far, 16 of which are gold. It’s been nearly impossible to stop him and Barr this year when they hit the courts together!
If we had to point to an underdog team to make a finals appearance, we’d probably select Bobbi Oshiro and Mick Andre. Oshiro and Andre were both drafted to the Frisco Pandas for MLP Season Two, and while they didn’t see the success they hoped for at MLP Atlanta, they certainly have a sense of chemistry after getting some reps in on the big stage.
Men’s Pro Doubles
It’s Daescu and Nunnery. All. Damn. Day. Andrei Daescu and Rob Nunnery have taken over men’s doubles, with five gold medals together on the year, including the recent back-to-back finishes in Atlanta and New Jersey.
Together, they managed a feat I don’t think we’ve seen before in the APP: A double pickle in the finals match. That’s right, they went 11-0, 11-0 over Anderson Scarpa and Greg Dow – 22 points in a row. All we have to say is “good luck” to the rest of men’s dubs!
Women’s Pro Doubles
Team #FudgeBarr is back at it and going strong, securing a gold medal in Atlanta and likely seeing another one in Dallas! They’ve got some steep competition in the main draw, though, which feels the strongest out of all the events.
Keep an eye out for Vivian Glozman and Alix Truong, who managed to defeat Fudge and Barr in the quarterfinals in Atlanta. Truong and Glozman took gold in Chicago last month and continue to prove themselves to be one of the most electric teams in women’s doubles right now! Expect to see them make a big playoff run this weekend.
The last team we need to mention is Parris Todd and Simone Jardim. They’re just another one of those teams that’s simply special. Not only do they have multiple gold medal finishes together in the APP to this season, but we’re also excited to continue to watch their partnership grow in the MLP on the Atlanta Bouncers! Whenever Jardim and Todd are playing, we’re watching.
