The US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida, showed its caring side yesterday when it interrupted the action to honor Simone Jardim with an award on midcourt. Jardim is a multi-US Open winner and a staple on the pickleball circuit. She received the award the award for her long-standing commitment to the tournament.
“I want to thank my family, my husband, and my kids,” she said. This life on the road takes a toll on everything, but we conquer, we survive. We are moving forward. Our lives changed forever. We were both working in Michigan, and we got phone call after phone call saying to move to Naples, and here we are.”
Women’s Pro Singles Recap
The top half of the Women’s Singles draw looked very strong, featuring the notably under-seeded Milan Rane at #16 and the freshly recruited MLP premier player Mari Humberg as #8 seed. They both fell to the formidable #1 seed, Megan Fudge.
However, Fudge’s semi-final adversary emerged as a surprise contender. Ranked #20, Nicole Pitts, who transitioned to professional tennis during her teenage years and currently practices as a sports medicine specialist, exhibited remarkable resilience. Pitts had clinched victories against #11 Alexa Schull in the round of 32, #4 Alix Truong in the round of 16, and triumphed over her frequent doubles partner, #12 Shea Donahue, in the quarters, earning herself an unexpected spot in the semi-finals.
Pitts put up a valiant fight before losing, winning a game against the top APP pro, an impressive feat for the 37-year-old orthopedist from Texas.
In contrast, the lower half of the singles draw unfolded with fewer surprises. #2 seed Jorja Johnson overcame the four-time U.S. Open singles champion #7 Simone Jardim in the quarters. In contrast, #3 seed Jenna Hessert quietly navigated her way to the semis with commendable victories over #30 Kate Earnhardt, #19 Madalina Grigoriu, and #11 Bobbi Oshiro.
Johnson delivered a resounding defeat to Hessert in the semis, securing a convincing 0,1 victory to advance to her inaugural U.S. Open Final.
In the championship match, Johnson delivered a commanding performance, asserting her dominance over Fudge with a 2,3 victory to clinch the title.
Throughout the competition, Johnson once again showed unparalleled prowess, conceding only 13 points across 10 games in five matches. This included two flawless victories in the round of 32 and round of 16, with another 11-0 win in the latter before her opponent, #18 Riley Bohnert, retired. This culminated in another flawless victory in the semis.
Following Jardim’s initial dominance with four consecutive U.S. Open singles titles, the title has now been claimed by four different women: Tereschenko, Parenteau, Todd, and now Johnson.
Interestingly, despite being the world’s leading singles player, Anna Leigh Waters has yet to secure a singles victory here due to scheduling conflicts.
Gold: Jorja Johnson. Silver: Megan Fudge. Bronze: Jenna Hessert.
Men’s Pro Singles Recap
The Men’s Pro Singles division kicked off the competitive action, commencing with the semifinals as early as April 14th, which was before the previous weekend’s finals had concluded.
The upper tier of the seedings boasted a notable Johnson presence, with JW, Hunter, and Yates Johnson comprising three of the top four seeds. However, by the time the gold medal showdown arrived, all the Johnson contenders had been unseated.
It was former APP NextGen champion #5 Jack Foster who emerged from the upper half. He claimed two solid victories in the quarters, including a triumph over #4 seed Yates Johnson. This was followed by a notable win over #1 seed JW Johnson in the semis.
The lower bracket featured rising talent, Gabriel Tardio, alongside dominant APP singles players Hunter Johnson and Christopher Haworth, as its top contenders.
However, Tardio was upset in the quarters by the underrated pro #10 Brandon Lane. The heavyweight semifinal showdown featured Hunter Johnson and Christopher Haworth. Haworth, boasting an impressive record of seven medals in the last twelve APP events, including the recent Delray Beach Classic, emerged victorious over the APP’s #1 ranked singles player with a commanding 6,9 win.
In the final, Foster, who had accumulated nine APP singles medals since May 2021 without clinching gold, finally broke through with a career-defining victory over Haworth, seizing the U.S. Open title.
Foster now joins seasoned pros Marcin Rozpedski, Ben Johns, Tyson McGuffin, and Hunter Johnson as U.S. Open Men’s Pro Singles titleholders.
Gold: Jack Foster. Silver: Christopher Haworth. Bronze: JW Johnson.
Women’s Pro Doubles Recap
This draw marked the highly anticipated return of the formidable mother-daughter pairing Leigh and Anna Leigh Waters. Leigh Waters had not played doubles with her daughter since sustaining an ACL injury just before the 2022 USAP Nationals, an event that catalyzed Anna Leigh’s unparalleled dominance in the sport.
Since her injury, Anna Leigh has emerged victorious in an impressive 22 out of the 23 pro events she has entered, with her sole loss occurring in the final of the PPA Austin Open in mid-March. While Leigh has fully recovered from her injury, she has transitioned into more of a coaching role.
Seeded #1, the duo effortlessly glided into the final without facing any serious threats in any of their matches. In the semifinals, they comfortably dispatched #5 seeds Yana Newell and Parris Todd with a 6,3 victory, setting the stage for championship Sunday.
However, the bottom half of the draw witnessed both top seeds succumbing to upsets in the quarterfinals. #2 seeds Jorja Johnson and Milan Rane were stunned by #7 seeds Mari Humberg and Arielle Butler, while #3 seeds Susannah Barr and Bobbi Oshiro endured a nail-biting 12-10 defeat in the third game against #6 seeds Simone Jardim and Allison Harris. Jardim and Harris then proceeded to overcome the odds, rallying after a blowout in the first game of their semifinal to secure a spot in the Sunday final.
In the highly anticipated final, the Waters duo faced off against the most decorated U.S. Open player in history, Simone Jardim, who boasts an impressive tally of 12 U.S. Open gold medals and has clinched the triple crown at this event twice, in 2017 and 2018.
However, even Jardim’s illustrious record wasn’t enough to thwart the formidable combination of mother and daughter, as the Waters duo emerged triumphant.
Gold: Waters and Waters. Silver: Jardim and Harris. Bronze: Newell and Todd.
Men’s Pro Doubles Recap
The highly anticipated Men’s Pro Doubles draw on Friday unfolded much as expected. This time, the seeded teams largely maintained their dominance, with only a couple of minor upsets occurring in the early rounds (#17 prevailing over #16 and #9 edging out #8).
The top-seeded duo of JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier surged into the final with commanding performances, including a resounding 0,2 victory over #5 Kyle Yates and William Sobek in the semifinals. Despite Yates, the most decorated player in U.S. Open history, missing out on defending his 2023 U.S. Open Men’s Pro Doubles title, he managed to secure the bronze medal in the subsequent match, marking his sixth podium finish in eight U.S. Opens.
From the lower bracket, it came as no surprise that #2 seeds Andrei Daescu and Gabe Tardio cruised effortlessly into the final. The duo had upset the Johns brothers two months ago at the PPA Mesa event, ultimately clinching a silver medal. It secured a gold medal at the APP Sacramento tournament in early March.
Their path to the Sunday gold medal match saw them go through surprise semifinalists #6 Jack Munro and Andre Mick.
The final presented a rematch of the APP pro event in Delray and the aforementioned PPA Mesa event. On both occasions, Johnson and Frazier had emerged victorious, and history repeated itself in Naples.
After splitting two closely contested games, Dylan and JW elevated their game to another level, storming to an 11-1 victory in the third game to claim the coveted gold medal once again.
Gold: Frazier and Johnson. Silver: Daescu and Tardio. Bronze: Yates and Sobek
Mixed Pro Doubles Recap
It doesn’t always work out, but pairing two of the world’s top players often creates an incredibly formidable mixed doubles team. Such was the case when current PPA #1 Anna Leigh Waters joined forces with JW Johnson, a player boasting an impressive tally of 39 APP gold medals and an additional 13 PPA golds in his illustrious professional career.
Together, they entered the U.S. Open’s Mixed Pro Doubles division and proved to be virtually unstoppable, conceding just 37 points across five matches, averaging fewer than 4 points per game on their path to clinching the title.
Throughout the event, the draw largely adhered to seedings, with all four top seeds progressing into the semifinals and only one upset occurring in the round of 16, where #11 Martina Frantova and William Sobek ousted #6 Susannah Barr and Will Howells.
Notably, all five members of the “Johnson 5” found themselves in the top half of the draw, but only JW emerged unscathed. In the quarterfinals, #4 seeds Jorja Johnson and Gabriel Tardio overcame their daily training partners #5 Dylan Frazier and Milan Rane, before JW triumphed over his sister in the semifinals.
From the bottom half, #3 seeds Megan Fudge and Andrei Daescu secured a narrow victory over #2 seeds Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson in a closely contested semifinal.
In the showdown, Anna Leigh Waters and JW Johnson were once again unstoppable, cruising to a decisive gold medal victory over Fudge and Daescu with a 2,3 scoreline.
Remarkably, this triumph marks the first-ever U.S. Open gold medal for the presumed #1 female professional in the world, Anna Leigh Waters.
Gold: Waters and Johnson. Silver: Fudge and Daescu. Bronze: Todd and Johnson
Split Age
The U.S. Open features a pro-competition called “Split Age,” where doubles teams are comprised of one 50+ player and one under-50 player. Here’s a quick review of those competitions:
The men’s doubles event saw Andrei Daescu continue his stellar form displayed throughout the year and emerge victorious once again. Teaming up with Dave Weinbach as the #2 seeds, Daescu secured a hard-fought victory in a three-game final against the #1 seeds Dylan Frazier and Altaf Merchant.
In the Women’s Split Age Pro Doubles event, #4 seeded Lee Whitwell, who has made waves on the Senior Pro circuit in 2024, joined forces with Ryann Foster to upset favorites Fudge and Ptaszek-Kochis in the semifinals. However, their journey was halted in the final by the #2 seeds Mari Humberg and Sheri Courter, who clinched the title with a 6,6 victory.
In the Mixed Split Age Pro Doubles category, long-time Brazilian tennis pro and current top-ranked senior pro-Jaime Oncins partnered with the legendary Simone Jardim to deliver a stunning upset against the #1 and #4 seeds to reach the final. However, they faced a formidable challenge in the form of Andrei Daescu, paired with the newly minted Senior pro Lee Whitwell, who has maintained an impeccable record since becoming eligible for the senior circuit.
Ultimately, Daescu and Whitwell proved too strong, clinching the title in the finals. Remarkably, Daescu secured his second Split Age Doubles medal in as many days, further solidifying his dominance in the competition.
Senior Pro Competition
In Men’s Senior Pro Singles, #12 Marcello Jardim emerged victorious, claiming the gold medal after defeating #31 Marco Osorio in the final. Meanwhile, #1 seed Mattias Johansson secured the Bronze by prevailing over #2 seed Paul Olin.
Women’s Senior Pro Singles saw Karin Ptaszek-Kochis, who has already secured three Senior Pro Singles golds on the APP circuit this year, maintain her dominance as the #1 seed, clinching the gold medal. She triumphed over #15 Spencer Moorman in the final match.
In Men’s Senior Pro Doubles, Altaf Merchant, undefeated in senior competitions in 2023, continued his winning streak by claiming yet another gold medal. Partnering with Dave Weinbach as the #1 seeds, they emerged victorious over #2 seeds Dayne Gingerich and Mircea Morariu in the final.
The Women’s Senior Pro Doubles saw #1 seeds Natalija Todorovic-Shaw and Nathalie Bagby navigate a challenging draw to emerge as the gold medalists. Notably, Lee Whitwell suffered her first loss on the senior circuit and failed to medal for the first time since becoming senior eligible.
In Mixed Senior Pro Doubles, #2 seeds Jamie Oncins and Lee Whitwell won the final over #5 seeds Chris Karges and Dave Weinbach. Despite an upset in the semis, #1 seeds Nathalie Bagby and Dayne Gingrich salvaged the bronze in the consolation bracket.
