Anna Leigh Waters reached another historic milestone, Roscoe Bellamy pulled off one of the biggest upsets of Championship Sunday, and a pair of rising men's doubles contenders continued their remarkable run at the Veolia Chicago Cup.
The PPA Tour's first-ever stop in the Chicago area delivered plenty of storylines, with established stars adding to their trophy collections and several emerging players making their presence felt.
Waters was unquestionably the headliner, capturing her 200th career PPA Tour title before completing her record-extending 45th career Triple Crown. Meanwhile, Bellamy denied top-seeded Chris Haworth another men's singles title, while Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin captured men's doubles gold in dominant fashion.
The tournament, held October 5–11 at Life Time North Shore Sport and Racquet in Chicago, was a PPA Cup-level event, awarding 1,500 ranking points to each champion.
Here are the biggest stories from Chicago.
Top Storylines
1. Anna Leigh Waters Reaches 200 Career Titles, Completes 45th Triple Crown
Another tournament, another historic milestone for Anna Leigh Waters.
The 19-year-old entered Chicago sitting on 199 career PPA Tour titles after being denied the milestone in Las Vegas. By the end of Championship Sunday, she had added three more trophies to her collection.
Waters began her day alongside Ben Johns in mixed doubles, defeating No. 3 seeds JW and Jorja Johnson, 11-4, 11-4, to officially capture her 200th career PPA title.
It was the 66th mixed doubles title Waters and Johns have won together.
The second piece of her Triple Crown required a comeback.
Playing alongside Anna Bright in women's doubles, Waters dropped the opening game to Catherine Parenteau and Hurricane Tyra Black, 2-11. The top seeds quickly regained control, winning the next two games 11-3, 11-4 to complete the comeback.
She followed that performance with a convincing victory over Kate Fahey in women's singles, winning 11-1, 11-7.
The victory secured Waters' 45th career PPA Tour Triple Crown, extending a record that continues to grow with nearly every tournament she enters.
It was also an emphatic response to Las Vegas, where Waters failed to win a title and sat out women's singles.
For a player who has already accomplished just about everything imaginable in professional pickleball, Chicago offered another reminder that she is still rewriting the record books.
2. Roscoe Bellamy Pulls Off Championship Sunday's Biggest Upset
Chris Haworth entered Championship Sunday as the favorite in men's singles, but Roscoe Bellamy had other plans.
The No. 4 seed delivered one of the biggest victories of his PPA Tour career, defeating top-seeded Haworth 11-4, 11-5 to capture the Chicago Cup men's singles title.
The result was particularly impressive considering Haworth's performance throughout the week.
The top seed had cruised into the championship match, including an 11-1, 11-0 semifinal demolition of French qualifier Emilien Burnel.
Bellamy, meanwhile, needed three games to get past John Lucian Goins in the semifinals.
But none of that mattered Sunday.
Bellamy controlled the championship match from the beginning, allowing Haworth just nine combined points across two games.
Haworth entered Chicago having won the Arizona Open singles title two weeks earlier, making Bellamy's straight-game victory even more noteworthy.
The result also adds another name to an increasingly competitive men's singles landscape.
With Haworth, Federico Staksrud, Hunter Johnson, and now Bellamy all making headlines during the opening three tournaments of the new PPA season, the division is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable on tour.
3. Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin Dominate Men's Doubles Final
After missing out on the men's singles championship match, Federico Staksrud ensured he wouldn't leave Chicago empty-handed.
Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin captured the men's doubles title with a commanding 11-1, 11-6 victory over No. 14 seeds Jaume Martinez Vich and Nico Acevedo.
The championship match was surprisingly one-sided, especially considering the momentum Martinez Vich and Acevedo had built throughout the tournament.
Staksrud and Patriquin wasted little time establishing control, racing through the opening game before closing out the match in straight games.
The victory capped an impressive week for the partnership, which also defeated CJ Klinger and Eric Oncins in the semifinals.
For Staksrud, the title was particularly meaningful following his quarterfinal singles loss to John Lucian Goins.
For Patriquin, it added another trophy to his growing collection and further cemented his position among the top young doubles players in professional pickleball.
The performance was a reminder that even in an increasingly deep men's doubles field, the sport's established stars remain difficult to beat when they're playing their best pickleball.
4. Nico Acevedo and Jaume Martinez Vich Prove Las Vegas Was No Fluke
Nico Acevedo and Jaume Martinez Vich didn't get the result they wanted on Championship Sunday, but their week in Chicago was another enormous step forward.
The No. 14 seeds advanced to their first championship match together, one week after reaching the semifinals at the Las Vegas Open.
Their route to the final was anything but easy.
Acevedo and Martinez Vich defeated No. 6 seeds Dylan Frazier and Armaan Bhatia in the quarterfinals before knocking off Anouar Braham and Bruno Faletto in the semifinals.
That semifinal victory was particularly noteworthy because Braham and Faletto had already produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, eliminating Ben Johns and Jack Sock in the Round of 32.
For Acevedo and Martinez Vich, consecutive deep runs at the PPA Tour's Cup-level events represent a significant breakthrough.
Their results have also come against established doubles teams rather than through favorable draws.
Although Staksrud and Patriquin dominated the championship match, the bigger picture remains encouraging.
Acevedo and Martinez Vich went from semifinalists in Las Vegas to finalists in Chicago, giving them a clear upward trajectory as they continue developing their partnership.
At this point, it is becoming increasingly difficult to consider either player an underdog in men's doubles.
5. Ben Johns and Jack Sock's Debut Ends in Stunning First-Round Defeat
One of the most anticipated partnerships of the Chicago Cup lasted just one match.
Ben Johns and Jack Sock, seeded No. 2 in men's doubles, were stunned in the Round of 32 by No. 27 seeds Anouar Braham and Bruno Faletto.
After Johns and Sock captured the opening game 11-8, Braham and Faletto responded with 11-5 and 11-3 victories to complete the upset.
The result continued a surprising trend for Johns, who has now lost his opening men's doubles match at two of the first three tournaments of the new season.
Johns also suffered an early elimination alongside Federico Staksrud at the Arizona Open, although he rebounded with a finals appearance alongside Gabe Tardio in Las Vegas.
For Braham and Faletto, the win was further confirmation of their potential.
The partnership had already enjoyed success on the PPA Challenger circuit, winning in Houston and reaching the final in Tampa Bay.
They followed up their victory over Johns and Sock with a run to the semifinals before falling to Acevedo and Martinez Vich.
Considering the amount of talent throughout the men's doubles draw, perhaps the most significant takeaway from Chicago is just how dangerous the lower-seeded teams have become.
Other Storylines
1. Emilien Burnel Goes From Qualifying to the Semifinals
One of the most improbable runs of the Chicago Cup belonged to Emilien Burnel.
The 25-year-old Frenchman entered the tournament as the No. 55 seed in men's singles and needed two three-game victories just to survive qualifying.
His reward was a first-round meeting with No. 3 seed Hunter Johnson, who had won the Las Vegas Open men's singles title just two days earlier.
Burnel stunned Johnson 13-11, 5-11, 11-9, setting the stage for an incredible week.
He followed that performance with victories over Mota Alhouni and JW Johnson, including a remarkable comeback from a 6-1 deficit in the deciding game against JW.
A three-game quarterfinal victory over 15-year-old Camden Chaffin sent Burnel into the semifinals, where his run finally ended against Haworth, 11-1, 11-0.
Burnel, a former collegiate tennis player at the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley, reportedly plans to pursue professional pickleball full-time in 2027.
After his performance in Chicago, he certainly looks like a player worth watching.
2. The Johnson Siblings Return With a Silver Medal
After missing the previous two tournaments, JW and Jorja Johnson returned to PPA Tour competition and immediately made an impact.
The No. 3 seeds advanced to the mixed doubles championship match, defeating No. 2 seeds Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin in the semifinals.
Their run ended against Waters and Johns on Sunday, 11-4, 11-4, but their return adds another dangerous partnership to the mixed doubles field.
With Bright and Patriquin having defeated Waters and Johns in Las Vegas, the competition among the top mixed doubles partnerships is showing signs of becoming considerably more interesting.
3. Kate Fahey and Milan Rane Find Success in Their First Tournament Together
A new women's doubles partnership showed plenty of promise in Chicago.
Kate Fahey and Milan Rane advanced to the semifinals in their first tournament together before falling to Catherine Parenteau and Hurricane Tyra Black.
Fahey also reached the women's singles championship match, losing to Waters 11-1, 11-7.
Although she left Chicago without a gold medal, Fahey's ability to make deep runs in multiple divisions remains an encouraging sign.
4. Parenteau and Black Push Waters and Bright to Three Games Again
For the second consecutive tournament, Catherine Parenteau and Hurricane Tyra Black found themselves across the net from Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright in the women's doubles championship match.
And for the second consecutive week, Waters and Bright emerged victorious.
However, Chicago's final was anything but straightforward.
Another 🥈 in the books with my girl @Hurricanetblack ❤️ Win or lose, I couldn’t be prouder of what we continue to build together. We battled, trusted each other, and left it all out there once again. So grateful to have a partner who shows up, fights for every point, and makes these moments so special. ❤️ Thank you for battling it out with me on another Sunday, Tyra! 🫶🏼 Thank you to @PPAtour for an amazing week in Chicago! And a huge thank you to our team for always having our backs, and to Athena for coaching us through every moment and keeping us locked in from start to finish. And Chicago… YOU GUYS!! 🔥 The energy from the crowd was unreal. You had us so fired up, and it’s an atmosphere I won’t forget anytime soon! Proud of this team, proud of this journey, and hungry for more. 💪🏼💙
— Catherine Parenteau (@CP_Pickleball) October 11, 2026
Parenteau and Black dominated the opening game 11-2, putting themselves in an excellent position to capture the title.
Waters and Bright responded emphatically, winning the final two games 11-3, 11-4.
While the top seeds continue to collect titles, Parenteau and Black have now established themselves as regular contenders in the women's doubles championship picture.
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