It’s been about a month since the APP Tour’s last tournament and it makes its return with the largest tournament in APP history. Over 1,400 players will participate in the record-breaking tournament, hosted at the Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach.
The 2023 APP Newport Beach Open kicks off today, June 28, with its Amateur Doubles Competition and will conclude on Monday, July 3 with Amateur Singles. In between, we get to see both amateur, pros, and senior pros events all weekend long, leading to an exciting conclusion on Championship Sunday.
Let’s look back at the last couple of tournaments to see which APP pros to expect on Championship Sunday, while also highlighting players that we think might shake things up in the main draws.
Men’s Pro Singles
Following last month’s rise of the underdogs, will the Johnsons be able to come back and claim their crown again? This weekend’s main draw is pretty diverse, but there are a few names that stand out as top contenders.
Hunter and Yates Johnson both got knocked out before the semis in New York, but we have a feeling that a month off from the APP, along with their recent participation in the final event of MLP Season One, has allowed the brothers some time to recuperate and come into this event refreshed. Which brother will take the gold? Yates won their last face off at the Vlasic Classic, so we think it’s Hunter’s turn for the spotlight.
18-year-old William Sobek has the potential of going back to back after his huge comeback in New York. His come back from 6-14 in the tie-breaker was the greatest men’s singles performance we’ve seen in the APP this year; if he can replicate that type of performance in the main draw, expect to see him on Championship Sunday.
Women’s Pro Singles
Salome Devidze has been in control of women’s singles all year long in the APP this year, but she will have some serious competition this weekend. Megan Fudge has been on the cusp of winning gold for the last few tournaments, we think this could be her weekend to finally pull it off this year!
Outside of the top two players, the field opens up considerably. Parris Todd has been crushing it in doubles alongside Simone Jardim, but the two haven’t seen the singles final’s court in several tournaments.
We also have our eyes on Jamie Haas as our underdog favorite this week. The Hawaiian native earned a fourth-place finish in singles at the Sacramento Open, and we’re excited to see what she can accomplish in Newport this weekend.
Mixed Pro Doubles
Mixed Pro Doubles has been dominated by Daescu and Barr, either together or with other partners.
This weekend, Barr will be partnering up with former MLP teammate Ryler DeHeart. The two recently led their team, the Chicago Slice, to a championship victory in the Season One Super Finals. While the two didn’t partner in mixed doubles in MLP, expect them to be riding that championship high into this weekend.
Daescu will be continuing his partnership with Alix Truong this weekend, and there’s no doubt that the two will be aiming for another gold medal finish. The two won the Vlasic Classic together after facing off against the strong team of Barr and Rob Nunnery. We continue to see both Alix and Andrei improve their game together, expect more big things from them!
Men’s Pro Doubles
Andrei Daescu partners back up with Pesa Teoni this weekend, but will the two be able to keep their winning streak going? We think the answer is YES!
Daescu and Teoni won both tournaments they partnered up for: The APP Mesa Open and the APP Sunmed Sacramento Open. In the finals, they’ve faced off against the Johnson brothers as well as the duo of Ryler DeHeart and Rob Nunnery.
The Johnsons have been dominant in singles, but have yet to catch a solid break in doubles this year. Nunnery and DeHeart won’t be partnering for this tournament, but both players have been incredibly successful lately with DeHeart recently winning the MLP Super Finals and Nunnery achieving a few recent gold medals of his own in the APP.
Nunnery will be partnered up with Austin Gridley, who we haven’t seen much of yet this year in the APP, but has made an appearance at the US Open and the PPA Atlanta Open. DeHeart will be playing with William Sobek, who recently won the Boca Raton APP New York City Open. DeHeart and Sobek coming off of two big wins has locked them in as one of our favorites this week.
Women’s Pro Doubles
This is where Jardim and Todd shine – the two are undefeated in 2023, and it’s unlikely we will see anyone take their crown this weekend. However, there are several other teams that are worth noting.
At the top of our list is the duo of Susannah Barr and Megan Fudge. Both players have been at the top of their game lately, with Barr recently winning the MLP Challenger Level Super Finals and Fudge being in the top five players in both women’s doubles and singles. The two recently met Todd and Jardim in the finals in Cincinnati, so it’s possible we could see a rematch this weekend.
