The Rise of a Young Pickleball Star: John Lucian Goins' Historic Win

Remember the Name: John Lucian Goins

If you’re a pickleball fan, remember that name. Actually, you should’ve remembered the name from back in March when he beat Ben Johns in Cape Coral, but I’ll give you a pass. He’s just 17 years old, and he just won his very first PPA title. Winning a title as a teenager bodes pretty well historically. According to my boy Erik Tice, he joins Anna Leigh Waters, Gabe Tardio, Jorja Johnson, Hayden Patriquin, and Quang Duong as teenage title winners. Yeah, that’s pretty good company.

 

 

Celebrating Milestones and Giving Back

First, as a thank you for 50,000 YouTube subscribers, I partnered up with Lobster Sports. We’re giving away the Pickle by Lobster to one person that subscribes to the channel and follows Lobster Sports on Instagram! We’re almost there, so make sure to subscribe and follow to enter!

PPA Bristol: An Event Full of Surprises

The PPA was back in Bristol, TN for the first time since San Clemente back in June and we were using the Life Time ball. This is the third tournament with the Life Time ball, and one thing has been consistent: the Life Time ball is shaking up the singles rankings. It’s faster pace and higher bounce seems to favor hard-hitting groundstrokers over cat and mouse players.

Upsets and Highlights

Upsets were plenty with Tyson falling first round to David Bieger and Ben losing to Max Freeman early. John Lucian Goins took out Connor Garnett, and Fed lost 12-10 in the third to Gabe Joseph. There were more surprises with 15th seeded Gabe Joseph facing 14th seeded Noe Kliff and 7th seeded Christian Alshon versus 19th seeded John Lucian Goins.

But the real highlight? Dylan Frazier rocked a Spongebob Squarepants paddle and outfit, and you know we couldn’t miss the chance to compare each Spongebob character to pro pickleball players.

Women’s Singles: An Open Field

On the women’s side, both Anna Leigh Waters and Kate Fahey chose not to play, making the singles title anybody’s ball game. Anna Bright, returning to the singles court for the first time since Milwaukee last November, made some noise with her impressive performance.

Mixed Doubles Drama

Mixed Doubles on Thursday was relatively uneventful except for Julie Johnson intensely watching her kids play and Christian Alshon putting his foot down against Hayden Patriquin — literally. Questions arose about whether it was a distraction, but in the end, Don didn’t call anything.

Men's Doubles Upsets

There were quite a few upsets in men’s doubles, including Dow and Scarpa beating Noe and Dylan, and Zane Ford and Alex Crum beating Collin and James Delgado. Not to forget the thrilling comeback by Matt Wright and Jaume Martinez Vich!

Championship Sunday: The Showdown

On Championship Sunday, Anna Leigh and Anna Bright proved to be unstoppable with an impressive 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 win. Ben and Gabe dominated Matt Wright and Jaume Martinez Vich. The biggest loser of the week? Jim Kloss, who boldly predicted that Matt Wright wouldn’t win a medal in 2025.

Singles Showdown: John Lucian Goins vs. Gabe Joseph

The final match of the day was 19th seeded 17-year-old John Lucian Goins versus 15th seeded Gabe Joseph. John won a tight first, dropped a tight second, and ran away with the third. So, what makes him so good? He has an incredibly complete game — hard passes on both wings, a heavy serve, excellent movement, and impressive reach due to his height.

Pickleball Players and Their Spongebob Counterparts

Finally, what you’ve all been waiting for: Which pickleball players are which Spongebob characters?

- Spongebob: Jaume

- Patrick: Dylan

- Plankton: Hayden

- Sandy: Rachel R

- Karen: Ben Johns

- Gary: JW Johnson

- Lary the Lobster: Grayson Goldin

- Perch Perkins: Dave Flemming

- Jay Devilliers: Two Hours Later narrator

- Fancy Squidward: John Cincola

- Princess Mindy: Parris

- Squidward: Collin Johns

- Mr. Krabs: Pardoe

Will all these players be on the PPA tour come 2027? Check out this video to see what’s going on behind the scenes with current contract negotiations. Lastly, these videos take a ton of time to find all of the clips. If you’re interested in helping, please shoot me a DM on Instagram!