This past weekend marked the first time the PPA Tour played at Life Time Arden, in Sacramento, California. Based on the views, the venue, and the fans, I don’t think it will be the last stop at this beautiful location. In fact, Life Time Arden is scheduled to host another Open level event April 13-19, in 2026.
The most intriguing thing about this event was the paddle selection: All the pros had to use a wooden paddle, provided by the title sponsor, PickleballCentral.
Because this was an Open level event and it is scheduled between two Cup level tournaments, a lot of the top players were missing. This made for smaller draws and some intriguing matchups and partnerships, along with some new faces in the winner’s circle.
The Wooden Paddle
The nostalgia of playing a wooden paddle tournament to celebrate pickleball being a sport for 60 years was very evident.
The pros: It was fun watching players adjust to basically having zero spin, a heavier paddle, and not nearly as much power.
The cons: There were hundreds of times players mishit balls badly because they played with the inferior technology.
Tice’s Thoughts: Overall, I loved the wooden paddle event. If it is done in the future, I would prefer to see it as some sort of exhibition event, rather than an actual PPA Tour stop, where PPA Points are earned. I could see something as an exhibition at Worlds, or who knows? Maybe even a PPA Tour All-Star event.
Let’s get into the action.
Top Storylines
JW Johnson Won Gold in Men’s Doubles and in Mixed Doubles
Headed into the event, JW and Jorja were the #1 overall seed in mixed doubles. In men’s doubles, JW teamed up with Dylan Frazier for the first time since last year’s PPA Worlds event in Dallas.
In mixed, the toughest opponent on their way to the finals was in the quarterfinals. (5) Etta Tuionetoa and Jay Devilliers took a game off the Johnson siblings, but that was it. The Johnsons won 11-2 in the third.
In the finals, JW and Dylan (playing men’s together) squared up against each other. Kate Fahey played phenomenally in the first game, which Dylan and Kate won 11-3. From there, it was all Jorja and JW Johnson. They ended up winning games 2, 3, and 4, 12-10, 11-5, 11-5.
This was the siblings’ first win in nearly six months - the last time they earned gold together was in the North Carolina Open in April.
As for JW and Dylan, it felt like 2023 all over again. The duo seemed like a lock to earn a medal during the 2023 year. Despite not having played together for the past year or so, Dylan and JW looked to be in sync with each other quickly.
They were the #4 seed, and had to beat (5) Pablo Tellez and Jaume Martinez Vich in the quarters, which they won 11-5, 11-5. In the semis, they faced off against the #1 over all seeds in the tournament, Collin Johns and Andrei Daescu. They were able to pull off the win, 11-6, in the third, having gone down a game to start.
In the finals, Dylan and JW relied on their inner zebras (see their shirts below), and made quick work of Augie Ge and James Ignatowich, who made a great run to earn silver. In an hour and ten minutes, Dylan and JW won 11-6, 11-7, 11-1.
Both Kate Fahey and Federico Staksrud Found Their Way Back to the Winner’s Circle
259 and 175 - the amount of days since the last gold medal in singles for Federico Staksrud and Kate Fahey, respectively.
Let’s start with Fed.
The Argentinian made quick work of his first round opponent, 2 & 0. In the Round of 16, Fed faced his toughest opponent of the weekend, Yates Johnson. Yates took a game off Fed, winning game one, 12-10. Staksrud bounced back and won 11-3, 11-5.
Staksrud then went on to beat Noe Khlif and Connor Garnett, to earn the right to play Gabe Joseph in the finals. In an extremely tight match in the final, Fed was able to outlast Joseph, beating him 11-8, 12-10.
This was Fed’s first win since The Masters in San Clemente in January.
For Kate, the story was similar to Fed’s run. She beat both Christa Gecheva and Angie Walker easily, giving up 6 points total in those first two matches. In the semis, Kate lost her only game to Mary Brascia in the first game, 6-11. She quickly turned the momentum around, winning 11-5, 11-0 to make the finals.
The biggest surprise of the tournament had to have been Genie Bouchard making the finals for the first time in her 21-month professional pickleball career. She had to take out Layne Sleeth, Brooke Buckner, AND Lea Jansen, just to make the finals. She did so while not losing a game.
In the finals, Kate was relentless with her precision ground strokes and got to the net a little more often than usual, due to the paddle and conditions. She won 11-9, 11-5.
This marked the first win for Fahey since the North Carolina Open in April.
Etta Tuionetoa and Lacy Schneemann won Gold in their Second Event Together
Lacy and Etta teamed up in the PPA Las Vegas Strip Open about a month ago, earning fourth place in that tournament. This time, they won gold.
The road was not nearly as easy for Etta and Lacy as some of the other winners in Sacramento. In fact, they were almost taken out in the quarterfinals. Here were their results on the way to the finals:
- Quarters: (7) Meghan Dizon/Lucy Kovalova - Win - 11-13, 11-3, 12-10
- Semis: (8) Maggie and Mary Brascia - Win - 11-9, 10-12, 11-5
In the finals, Etta and Lacy faced off against (6) Callie Smith and Jessie Irvine. That side of the bracket was crazy, as Brooke Buckner and Lea Jansen pulled off the upset of the tournament, beating the #1 seed, Jorja Johnson and Hurricane Tyra Black, 2-11, 11-9, 11-5.
In the semis, Callie and Jessie beat Lea and Brooke, 12-10, 11-9. It doesn’t get any closer than that.
In the finals, Etta and Lacy won in four, bringing just too much steadiness combined with power. With the wood paddles, it was definitely an advantage for them to have two of the five best overheads in the women’s game on one side of the net.
Other Storylines
Riley Newman had a great weekend, making the semis in both mixed (with Layne Sleeth) and men’s (with Jay Devilliers). However, he looked to have suffered a lower body injury in his mixed semifinal match and pulled out of the bronze match because of it. This is something to monitor moving forward.
There were five players who earned two medals at this event:
- JW Johnson 🥇🥇
- Kate Fahey & Dylan Frazier 🥇🥈
- Jessie Irvine 🥈🥉
- Lea Jansen 🥉🥉
Full Results
Women’s Singles
🥇 Kate Fahey
🥈 Genie Bouchard
🥉 Lea Jansen
Men’s Singles
🥇 Federico Staksrud
🥈 Gabe Joseph
🥉 Chris Haworth
Mixed Doubles
🥇 Jorja Johnson & JW Johnson
🥈 Kate Fahey/Dylan Frazier
🥉 Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio
Women’s Doubles
🥇 Etta Tuionetoa/Lacy Schneemann
🥈 Jessie Irvine/Callie Smith
🥉 Lea Jansen/Brooke Buckner
Men’s Doubles
🥇 Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson
🥈 Augie Ge/James Ignatowich
🥉 Collin Johns/Andrei Daescu
