Greater Zion Cup at Black Desert Resort Tournament Preview

With only three USA based tournaments remaining before the PPA Finals in May, the Greater Zion Cup brings added pressure to make the prestigious finals. Being a Cup, this tournament is worth 1.5x the normal PPA Points, so winners earn 1,500 Points.

The Greater Zion Cup has all of the top pros playing in it because it is worth so many points. Historically, this has been known as the Red Rock Open, but with the beautiful Black Desert Resort expanding this year, a name change was in order.

One notable player update is Will Howells, who is back playing doubles in Utah, after a pretty severe ankle injury in Minneapolis in January. Howells is with Noe Khlif and Meghan Dizon this week.

How to Watch the Greater Zion Cup

Tuesday, March 24 - Round of 64

Noon - 8pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
Noon - 8pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Wednesday, March 25 - Round of 32

Noon - 8pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
Noon - 8pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Thursday, March 26 - Round of 16

Noon - 8pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
Noon - 8pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv
9:30 - 11:30pm ET - Round of 16 Replay - FS2

Friday, March 27 - Quarterfinals

1pm - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
1pm - 9pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv
7pm - 9pm ET - Live Quarterfinals - FS1

Saturday, March 28 - Semifinal

2pm - 8pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
2pm - 10pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv
8pm - 10pm ET - Live Semifinals - FS1

Sunday, March 29 - Round of 16

Noon - 6pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
11am - 3pm ET - Grandstand Court - Bronze Matches - pickleballtv
7pm - 9pm ET - Championships Replay - FS2

Weather Outlook

Wind played a huge factor in Texas two weekends ago, but it doesn’t look to be much of a factor in Utah, with winds between 8-11mph. The high temperatures are going to be between the mid 80s and low 90s with the lows in the 50s and 60s. This makes for ideal weather conditions throughout the entire tournament.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines

If Anna Leigh Waters can win, she will be undefeated for one year and 10 months in singles, with four more tournaments to play before she officially goes two years undefeated
The only player in women’s singles to make it to the semi-finals outside of a top 10 seed was (19) Kiora Kunimoto at the Indoor National Championships in January - she is now the 11 seed, and may face Catherine Parenteau early and beat her 11-6, 11-4 in Mesa
(2) Kate Fahey and (3) Kaitlyn Christian have faced off four times since the beginning of 2025, and the series is tied 2-2, but Fahey won the last one, 12-10, 11-1, in the bronze match in Vegas in October
(4) Brooke Buckner vs (5) Lea Jansen is a huge quarterfinal matchup to see who faces off against Anna Leigh in the semis - they had an EPIC battle in Newport Beach in March, with Lea winning 13-11, 9-11, 11-9

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Brooke Buckner, (2) Kate Fahey, and (3) Kaitlyn Christian
Finals: Anna Leigh Waters wins in 3 over Fahey

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

(1) Hunter Johnson took the Texas Open off to vacation at the annual Necker Island pickleball retreat, and Federico Staksrud beat Chris Haworth in the finals - only 1,700 points separate Hunter from (3) Chris Haworth
(9) John Lucian Goins and (13) Zane Ford made the semifinals in Texas and Ford took bronze - their reward? They are in the same quarter of the bracket as Hunter Johnson in Utah
(14) Jay Devilliers is playing some really good ball as of late, but could face a tough opponent in (4) Christian Alshon, in the Round of 16
Of note, Ben Johns chose to play singles in the Mesa Cup, but is skipping singles in Utah

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Hunter Johnson, (3) Chris Haworth, (2) Federico Staksrud, and (7) Jack Sock
Finals: Hunter defeats Fed in the finals in a three game thriller

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

(1) Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns really dominated (2) Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin in the Texas Finals, avenging their loss earlier in the year in Mesa
There are a lot of newer partnerships that are intriguing in mixed this week:
- Former NY Hustlers (RIP) teammates, Jack Sock and Lea Jansen are partnered
- (11) Alix Truong and Noe Khlif are partnered for the first time
- (10) Jessie Irvine and Dekel Bar are paired up
- (7) Dylan Frazier and Tyra Black are an interesting new duo
(2) Jorja and JW Johnson have not had the success they hoped for in 2026, despite being the 2 seed - can Utah be the place where they pick up some momentum?

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (4) Rachel Rohrabacher/Christian Alshon, (2) Jorja & JW Johnson, and (3) Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin
Finals: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Anna and Hayden in five

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

(1) Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright have now gone over six months straight without a loss
(6) Alix Truong and Zoey Wang is a new partnership in the states, but they won the Hanghzou Open in December together
Tina Pisnik and Lacy Schneemann had been having a lot of success together, but Tina is with Millie Rane and Lacy is with Meghan Dizon in this one
(4) Parris Todd and Kate Fahey were knocked out kind of early in Mesa by the abovementioned Pisnik and Schneemann - can they find some momentum in Utah?

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright, (10) Brooke Buckner/Mari Humberg, (2) Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black, and (4) Parris Todd/Kate Fahey
Finals: Anna Leigh and Anna beat Jorja and Tyra in four

Men’s Doubles

Top Storylines

(1) Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns have been undefeated since their finals loss at Worlds in November, and Gabe has ALL of the men’s doubles golds in 2026 thus far
(5) Dylan Frazier and Eric Oncins (Texas Ranchers teammates in MLP) have been playing great recently, but will run up against Ben and Gabe in the quarters - tough matchup
(13) Will Howells is back and playing with Noe Khlif, but they run into (3) Andrei and Fed in the Round of 16
(6) Jaume and Jay earned a bronze medal in Texas, but have a tough early round matchup against (11) Pablo and Jack Sock
(9) Armaan Bhatia and Riley Newman are an interesting new pairing - Riley will likely be shifting over to the right side for this one

Predictions

Semifinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Ben Johns, (3) Federico Staksrud/Andrei Daescu, (2) Christian Alshon/Hayden Patriquin, and (9) Riley Newman/Armaan Bhatia
Finals: Gabe and Ben beat Christian and Hayden in four