7 PPA Worlds Takeaway Lessons for 2027

The biggest PPA Worlds takeaway is that pro pickleball is more unsettled than the rankings suggest. From Ben Johns' men's doubles skid to a historic reverse sweep, here is what to watch in 2027.

The biggest PPA Worlds takeaway is that the top of pro pickleball is far less settled than the rankings make it look.

A 2% comeback, a goat on a losing streak, and a pile of partner breakups all landed in a single weekend.

If you only watched the highlights, you missed the patterns underneath.

Those patterns tell you a lot about how to play, and how the pros are likely to line up next year.

This breakdown comes from Zane Navratil Pickleball on YouTube, who recaps every PPA and MLP event from the perspective of a working pro.

Here are the seven things worth taking from Dallas.

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1. Why Is Ben Johns Losing Men's Doubles?

Ben Johns has now lost five straight men’s doubles tournaments, and the cause is passive play from the kitchen.

After starting the year 54-0 with 11 straight titles alongside Gabe Tardio, the team has gone quiet.

In their loss to Christian Alshon and Andre Daescu, Ben did not initiate a single speed up from the kitchen until 7-9 in game one.

He had four dead dink forehands on one point and sped up none of them.

That is the same pattern that sank them in Hong Kong. When your partner is the only source of offense, the other team only has to solve one player.

Gabe is also looking more attackable. He hits nearly everything instead of letting balls go, and Christian took advantage by firing at him all weekend.

The PPA Worlds takeaway for your own game is simple. If you hold a dead dink and do nothing with it, you hand your opponent free time.

Work on flick fixes for better kitchen offense so you have a real answer when the ball sits up.

2. How Did JW and Tama Pull Off a 2% Comeback?

JW Johnson and Tama Shimabukuro won gold after trailing two games to none, a comeback that had only happened four times in PPA history.

Of roughly 200 best-of-five Championship Sunday matches, reverse sweeps happen about 2% of the time.

The turning point was Tama relaxing. He started winning hands battles, smirking after counters, and feeding off a crowd that chanted his name.

Christian wanted the crowd on his side. Instead, they flipped, and he started tightening up with every counter Tama smiled through.

Here is the PPA Worlds takeaway from that swing:

Stay loose after a bad start. Tama’s relaxed body language changed the match more than any shot.
Win a few hands battles early. Confidence builds from small wins at the line.
Do not let an opponent’s emotion pull you in. Christian’s frustration cost him the last three games.

If hands battles are your weak spot, these six habits to beat hard hitters are a good place to start.

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3. Is Tama Ready for the Right Side?

Not yet, based on the first two games of the final. Tama’s best results have come on the left side, where he can dictate play.

From the right, he struggled to get JW involved, and Christian had an answer for every attack he threw.

Christian then lit Tama up with his own offense, the same way he did to Gabe the day before.

Once Tama settled in during game three, his counters landed and his confidence returned.

Right side play rewards patience and counters more than raw attack, which is the PPA Worlds takeaway that explains why right side rules most players never learn matter so much at every level.

4. Which Mixed Doubles Partnerships Are Likely to Break Up?

The clearest candidate is Federico Staksrud and Kate Fahey, who went 0-12 against Ben and Anna Leigh, Anna Bright and Hayden, and JW and JW combined.

Across 14 tournaments together they had zero titles and zero finals. They lost in the round of 16 to Sarah Ansboury and Tama, which probably ends the pairing.

Fed could end up with Sophia Sev, and Kate could land with Eric next year.

Nicko withdrew from singles with a hamstring injury, a worrying trend after he also missed MLP Columbus and MLP St. Pete.

His pairing with Sophia could still grow into a top five mixed doubles team if he stays healthy.

The bigger story involves Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin.

They had the best year outside Ben and Anna Leigh with three gold medals, but they finished with a 2-4 loss to Jade and Jorja.

Anna is playing with Christian in Daytona, while Hayden plays with Sophia.

If both teams do well, expect those pairings to stick in 2027, and maybe Hayden slides in with Tyra Black.

5. Why Do JW and Jorja Give Ben and Anna Leigh So Much Trouble?

Jorja Johnson is willing to grind crosscourt dinks with Anna Leigh forever, and that is exactly what beats her.

Nobody on tour shuts down Anna Leigh’s aggression better than JW Johnson.

Ben and Anna Leigh entered the final 24-3 against the Johnsons. Jorja dinked well early, JW and Jorja won games one and four, and the match went five.

Then the crosscourt pattern broke down.

Jorja missed a couple of dinks, popped up a few, and bailed out of rallies, which gave Ben and Anna Leigh the window they needed to finish 77-3 with 12 titles.

The PPA Worlds takeaway for you is that boring works.

A patient crosscourt dink pattern shuts down an aggressive opponent, and topspin dink techniques help you keep it going longer.

6. Who Are the Top Women's Doubles Teams After Worlds?

Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters sit at number one after finishing 70-0 with 15 titles and dropping just six games all year.

The PPA Worlds takeaway in women’s doubles is simple: everyone else is fighting for second.

Here is how the rest of the top six shakes out:

Parris and Rachel: 21-5 together, and 21-1 against everyone except the Annas.
Jorja and Tyra: One gold, five finals, and the closest scorelines against the Annas at 5.4 points per game.
Catherine and Sofia: Surging late, with wins over Jorja and Tyra and Kate and Tina at Worlds.
Jackie and Jade Kamoto: They play less, but no team wants them in the draw.
Kate and Tina: Only two tournaments together, but a semifinal run at Worlds.

Catherine Parenteau and Sofia Sewing have only played five tournaments together, which makes their rise even more impressive.

7. Can a Tennis Star Ever Dominate Pro Pickleball?

Probably not, and the PPA Worlds takeaway here is about hunger, not talent.

Jack Sock made nearly $12 million in tennis and reached number eight in the world, so pickleball is a fun second act, not a career.

Players who grinded lower tennis tiers tend to outwork the big names because pickleball is their one shot at a pro career.

Hunter Johnson peaked at 1,470 in tennis singles and became pickleball’s top singles player.

Jack still made one of the great singles runs at Worlds.

He beat Jonathan Truong, Yates Johnson, Federico Staksrud, Roscoe Bellamy, and Hunter Johnson before losing to John Lucian Goins in the final.

That is now four PPA singles finals for Jack and zero wins. Meanwhile, John claimed his second set of back-to-back PPA titles.

Is Ben Johns Becoming a Singles Threat Again?

Ben’s surprise lefty forehand suggests he has found a new challenge in singles, and that tends to be when he improves fastest.

You can read more about it in our piece on Ben Johns’ lefty forehand at PPA Worlds.

Ben is borderline ambidextrous, and his biggest singles weakness is the backhand. Hitting a lefty forehand instead removes that weakness entirely.

His biggest strength has always been spotting a deficiency and patching it fast. For more on that, see what makes Ben Johns so good.

If he stays interested, I expect him back in the top 10 in singles next year.

What Else Debuted at Worlds?

Several new paddles made their first appearance in Dallas, including the Banton Jolt, the Tempest Vera, and the Proton Project Blue J.

Paddle tech is moving fast, which is why it is worth reading about whether paddles are getting too powerful again.

For full tournament results, check our PPA Worlds recap. If you want to see who showed up in style, we also covered the best dressed pros at PPA Worlds.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who won men's doubles at PPA Worlds?

JW Johnson and Tama Shimabukuro won gold, beating Christian Alshon and Andre Daescu in five games. They came back from 0-2, a reverse sweep that has happened only four times in PPA history.

Has Ben Johns lost men's doubles tournaments in a row?

Yes, he has now lost five straight men's doubles tournaments. That follows a 54-0 start to the year with Gabe Tardio and 11 straight titles.

Who won women's singles at PPA Worlds?

Anna Leigh Waters beat Kate Fahey 3-2 in the final. Kate had 17,200 ranking points to Anna Leigh's 17,500 entering the event, so a better Worlds finish could have flipped the number one spot.

Who won men's singles at PPA Worlds?

John Lucian Goins beat Jack Sock in the final. It was Goins' second set of back-to-back PPA titles, and Sock's fourth lost PPA singles final.

Are Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin splitting up?

Nothing is confirmed, but Anna is playing Daytona with Christian Alshon while Hayden plays with Sophia Sev. If both new teams do well, expect those pairings to continue into 2027.