In the third PPA Tour event in the same amount of months, drama was high, upsets were huge, and so was the temperature and humidity.
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The Veolia PPA Bristol Open took place at the Bristol Sportsplex, in Bristol, Tennessee. It seems the hybrid model of tournament is locked in now, on the PPA Tour for Opens:
- Wednesday - singles through quarterfinals
- Thursday - mixed doubles thru quarterfinals
- Friday - gender doubles through quarterfinals
- Saturday - Semifinal Saturday
- Sunday - Championship Sunday
Let's get into the action.
Top Storylines
Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns both Double Crown
Anna Leigh and Ben played a combined 36 doubles games (in gender doubles and mixed doubles) in Bristol, and went 33-3.
The most dominant performance on the weekend came from Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters in women’s doubles. They were a combined 11-0, never dropping a game. Their combined scoreline was: 121-22, or 11-2 average. They pickled teams three times, including a double pickle. The most points they gave up in a single game was six in the finals against Rachel and Jorja.
Not to be outdone, Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns nearly made the same run as Anna and Anna Leigh. They only lost one game, which was in the semis, to Riley Newman and Jay Devilliers. Despite that one loss, here was their combined record together: 129-59, or 10.75-4.9 average, losing one game. They only allowed Matt Wright and Jaume Martinez Vich a TOTAL of nine points in their three game championship match.
In mixed doubles, Johns and Waters didn't have any problems before running up against JW and Jorja Johnson in the finals. They won in five games, 11-3 in the fifth. It seems like the Johnson siblings are the only team that can put up a fight against the best in the world. We will see if that changes throughout the rest of 2025.
John Lucian Goins wins his first PPA Tour Gold
“Johnny G”, as the broadcasters called him all weekend, was a man on a mission.
Let’s start out with this - John Lucian Goins is 17 years old. It was said multiple times on the broadcast that he is 16. He recently turned 17.
Now that we have that out of the way, Johnny G took out some big time players. Here are his results from PPA Bristol, as the 19 seed:
- Rd 64 - Win - #44 Wyatt Stone - 11-4, 13-11
- Rd 32 - Win - #55 Yuta Funemizu - 11-7, 7-11, 11-7
- Rd 16 - Win - #3 Connor Garnett - 11-5, 13-11
- QF - Win - #18 Adam Harvey - 11-7, 11-8
- SF - Win - #7 Christian Alshon - 8-11, 11-7, 11-8
- Final - Win - #19 Gabe Joseph - 13-11, 9-11, 11-2
Goins is going to be dangerous moving into the second half of the year on the PPA Tour. The teen has what it takes to beat anyone in the world. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him crack the top 10 on the singles circuit by the end of the year.
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Parris Todd earns her 2nd Gold in Singles on the PPA Tour
Parris Todd won the PPA Tucson Open, back in February and added to her collection in Bristol.
Parris had to beat three top 10 seeds in order to win the title. She beat Mary Brascia, Brooke Buckner, and then Kaitlyn Christian, in the final.
The final was an epic display of competition from both Parris and Kaitlyn. In a two game match that couldn’t have been any closer, Parris won 12-10 in both games.
Other Storylines
Matt Wright and Jaume Martinez Vich made it all the way to Championship Sunday, earning a silver medal. This was the first medal for Wright in 273 days, while it was Vich’s first in 147 days. They beat Hayden and Fed in the quarters, 11-9, in game three. Then in the semis, they beat Tyson and Max Freeman, 11-7, 11-8 in games two and three, after getting pickled in game one.
Dylan Frazier appeared to have injured his right hamstring in a singles match in the Round of 16 against Noe Khlif. He tried a sliding stop, extending his right leg, and came up limping and obviously hindered by the right leg. He still played mixed doubles and men’s doubles, but was in obvious pain. This is one to keep an eye on for the MLP Playoffs this week in San Diego.
Another thing to keep an eye on headed into the MLP Playoffs is Christian Alshon’s foot stomping. It is very strange and can throw opponents off. He nearly got called for it a couple of times in a match against Hayden Patriquin and Parris Todd. I believe he actually did get called for it as a distraction in his bronze medal match in mixed doubles.
The LifeTime ball is definitely benefitting some players, while others are a little slower to get used to playing with it. The ball definitely bounces higher and is great for players who hit precise ground stroke in singles, and those that like to pull speedups off the bounce in doubles. Keep an eye on future PPA events to see if this holds true.
Full Results
Women’s Singles
🥇 Parris Todd
🥈 Kaitlyn Christian
🥉 Brooke Buckner
Men’s Singles
🥇 John Lucian Goins
🥈 Gabriel Joseph
🥉 Christian Alshon
Mixed Doubles
🥇 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns
🥈 Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson
🥉 Anna Bright/Andrei Daescu
Women’s Doubles
🥇 Anna Bright/Anne Leigh Waters
🥈 Jorja Johnson/Rachel Rohrabacher
🥉 Parris Todd/Hurricane Tyra Black
Men’s Doubles
🥇 Gabe Tardio/Ben Johns
🥈 Matt Wright/Jaume Martinez Vich
🥉 Riley Newman/Jay Devilliers
