There's no crying in Pickleball

"It Feels Like a Grand Slam"

PPA Worlds

This is the type of reaction you only get at the biggest pickleball event of the year.

The PPA Tour landed in Dallas, Texas, for pickleball’s World Championships — and it felt like a grand slam. 3,700 players, concerts every night, celebrity pro-ams, packed stands… pickleball has never looked (or felt) bigger.

If you’d rather watch the full chaos unfold, hit play on the video up top 🎥

But if you’re here to read — buckle in. There’s a lot to unpack.

The Stakes Were Massive

Three thousand points on the line. Most important stop of the year. Federico Staksrud and Hunter Johnson were neck-and-neck for World No. 1.

Anna Leigh Waters was chasing Ben Johns’ all-time gold record.

And, per usual lately, we got the worst line call of the season.

A Few Quick Hits

🎧 Recaps are now on Spotify (Click to subscribe on Spotify)

👦👧 Junior MLP officially announced for 2025

🤩 My academy, The Transition Zone, hit 200 members — you can still lock in the pre-launch price forever 👉 Click here to get the lowest price it will ever be!

🍿 Anna Leigh Waters launched her own YouTube channel 

👊 And yes, I’m back to hitting balls again 

Early Upsets and Classic Chaos

We started hot.

Rika Fujiwara—44 years old, first U.S. pro event, former world No. 84 in singles/13 in doubles—took out Salome Devidze.

Christian Alshon handled Jack Wong in a Malaysia rematch.

And 14-year-old Tama Shimabukaro showed real flashes against Chris Haworth. The junior ceiling is high; the current gap is pure put-away power.

But not all the highlights were clean…

Rafa Hewett and AJ Koller skipped the paddle tap and exchanged words. That tension’s been simmering since last year.

Then the call.

Alli Phillips/Olivia McMillan called a ball out that was in by a mile. Of course, it was the same ref from a few other controversial moments this season. Even NFL legend turned pickleball addict, Terrell Owens, chimed in.

Fortunately, I have it on good authority that we'll have new cheating deterrents soon. Let’s hope this was the last one.

Wednesday: Tough Day for the Tennis Converts

Rough go for the former ATP crew:

• Genie Bouchard withdrew with an injury
• Tom Protzek upset Jack Sock
• Sam Querrey officially announced his retirement

Serious note, Sam’s an icon — funny guy, great energy, and I hope he sticks around the game.

Also noteworthy is that Alex Crum knocked out Ben Johns (yes, that Ben Johns), who debuted a new paddle collab with Razer.

Speaking of paddles… they were everywhere:

• Hunter Johnson rocking the new Hit Pickleball “Hand Cannon”
• Riley Newman debuting his ProXR Signature Paddle ($119!)
• Callie Smith switching to Proton

If you’re shopping for paddles — or just feel bougie enough to buy the $960 wood one — use my Pickleball Central code. I’ll even split the commission. 😉

Thursday: High Drama and Hot Hands

Federico + Hayden played a match of the year candidate against Jaume + Jonathan — 12–10, 12–10 finish. Hayden yanking inside-out overheads at 10–10 like it’s nothing.

And yes, we had another paddle slam.

Props to Wyatt, but I’m giving it a solid B grade. Good throw, poor follow-through. Always finish the tantrum, folks.

Drama, Upsets, and… Technical Warnings?

Women’s Singles:
Anna Leigh vs. Kaitlyn Christian started wild — down 4–9, ALW stormed back, then got caught in a rule mess involving a technical warning and an overturned challenge.

She wasn’t happy. Then she won 11–2 and 11–6.

Classic.

Men’s Singles:
Chris Haworth vs. Hunter Johnson = baseline battle.
Federico vs. Connor Garnett = domination. Fed reclaimed World #1 with a 4 and 1 win.

Mixed Doubles:
Ben + ALW dropped a game to Hayden + Anna Bright, while JW + Jorja beat Christian + Tyra.

History and Heart

The men’s semifinal? Hayden + Federico vs. Ben + Gabe.

Ben and Gabe were on a six-tournament win streak… until now.

Hayden + Fed won 8 and 5 — and it wasn’t luck. Fed’s move to the right side looked natural, freeing Hayden to play aggressive and chaotic.

Fed’s post-match interview might’ve been the best moment of the weekend. The guy’s been through ups and downs, but seeing him reclaim #1 and beat the unbeatable? Unreal.

Hayden and Fed won the gold on Sunday over JW and CJ.

Anna Leigh’s Record-Breaking Run

Ben’s loss opened the door.

If Anna Leigh triple crowned, she’d pass Ben Johns for most gold medals ever.

She and Ben won mixed.

She and Anna Bright won women’s dubs.

And then she capped it with her 89th straight singles win, extending her streak to 529 days.

Her dominance is getting hard to describe. Just watch the championship point in the video — you’ll get it.

Final Thoughts

This felt like pickleball’s first true Grand Slam.

Even Genie said so: