Ben and Collin Johns’ position at the top of the men’s doubles game throughout 2022 and 2023 is a testament not only to their ability but also their desire to improve while staying there.
Five Gold Medals Ahead Of The Competition
According to tournament stats compiled by the PPA Tour, the Johns brothers outshone their closest competitors by three gold medals in 2022, and by 2023, they expanded this lead to a substantial five gold medals.
The Johns brothers secured ten gold medals in 2022, a number that increased to an impressive 12 in 2023. Their silver medal count decreased significantly from four in 2022 to just one in 2023.
Championship Sunday Performances
Analyzing their Championship Sunday performances, you can get a better picture by examining their games played results in gold medal matches. To ensure a fair comparison, the 2023 Takeya Showcase final, where Collin played with a sprained ankle, is excluded.
In 2022, the brothers won 65% of their gold medal matches, with 35 wins and 19 losses. Remarkably, in 2023, while maintaining the same number of wins, their losses decreased to just 8, resulting in an 81% success rate.
Performances In Gold Medal Matches
A detailed breakdown of their game-by-game results in gold medal matches for both years reveals a consistent improvement:
- Game One: 2022 (11-3) vs. 2023 (10-2)
- Game Two: 2022 (7-7) vs. 2023 (8-4)
- Game Three: 2022 (10-4) vs. 2023 (10-2)
- Game Four & Five: 2022 (7-5) vs. 2023 (7-0)
The pattern is clear: the Johns brothers often dominated the first game. They faced challenges in Game Two but were able to react by tightening up their play.
Game Three mirrored the success of Game One, and the most striking improvement was observed in Games Four and Five, where they maintained a perfect record in 2023.
An Interesting Insight
Collin shared an interesting insight with Jim Reilly of Carvana PPA Tour about what he thought was behind their continuing success: “I would say the increase in our success this year, despite even stronger competition, is in part due to that stronger competition.
“When elite teams attempt to brainstorm to come up with various strategies on how to beat you, they can expose chinks in the armor that you didn’t realize you had. Ben and I are believers in learning from losses or weaknesses by analyzing our deficiencies, which allows us to practice and fill in the holes.
“I feel like we owe a thank you to the top teams of the past few years for pushing us to become a better team in a variety of ways. Ben and I are a more complete team because of it and our response to it. I believe the results of the 2023 season highlighted our mindset in this regard.”
100 PPA Titles!
Ben, of course, has also been phenomenally successful in his own right. He recently won his 100th PPA title with his victory at the 2023 PPA Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio, in September last year. It was fitting for him to accomplish it alongside his brother, Collin Johns, in men’s doubles, with the rest of his family sitting courtside.
As the pickleball scene unfolds in 2024, it will be intriguing to monitor the continued journey of Ben and Collin Johns.
