Just days after leaving sunny and beautiful Rancho Mirage, California, the PPA Tour is headed to FRIGID Minneapolis, Minnesota.

When I say frigid, I mean it - here are the high temperatures of the day for Thursday through Sunday: 7, -9, -1, 2. Yes, those are negative signs. Good thing play is all indoors at the Life Time Lakeville Minnesota, in a southern suburb of Minneapolis.

This is an Open level event, worth 1,000 PPA Points to the winners of each event. Additionally, the PPA Tour has updated its format for 2026 - all tournaments are now Progressive Draws, so play actually started on Tuesday in the Round of 64.

How to Watch the PPA Indoor National Championships 

Wednesday, 1/21 - Round of 32

• PPA Streamed Courts YouTube Channel

Thursday, 1/22 - Round of 16

• 11am - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
• 2pm - 5pm ET - Championship Court - Tennis Channel
• 11am - 7pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Friday, 1/23 - Quarterfinals

• 11am - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
• 2pm - 5pm ET - Championship Court - Tennis Channel
• 11am - 7pm ET - Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Saturday, 1/24 - Semifinals

• 11am - 7pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
• 11am - 7pm ET - Grandstand Court (Juniors) - pickleballtv

Sunday, 1/25 - Championship Sunday

• 11am - 5pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv
• 10am - 2pm ET - Grandstand Court (Bronze) - pickleballtv

Notable players missing from this tournament

• Ben Johns
• Anna Leigh Waters is only playing women’s doubles
• Jorja Johnson
• JW Johnson
• Riley Newman
• Jade Kawamoto
• Jackie Kawamoto
• Etta Tuionetoa

Let’s get into the action.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines

• Anna Leigh Waters and Kate Fahey are not playing this one, so Kailtyn Christian is the #1 seed
• Parris Todd is back as the #4 seed after serving her one PPA Tour event suspension
• The best first round matchup is (9) Hannah Blatt vs. (19) Kiora Kunimoto - Blatt has been playing well recently and Kunimoto recently won gold on the PPA Challenger Series
• (2) Brooke Buckner could face off against her women’s doubles partner, (7) Zoey Wang, in the quarterfinals

Predictions

• Seminfinalists: (1) Kaitlyn Christian, (4) Parris Todd, (2) Brooke Buckner, and (3) Lea Jansen
• Finals: Parris Todd defeats Lea Jansen in three

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

• #1 seed and #2 seed, Hunter Johnson, and Federico Staksrud, picked up slight injuries at the Masters last week - can they compete in Minnesota?
• Will Howells sprained his left ankle playing against Cason Campbell in the Round of 64, withdrawing from both singles and mixed doubles - assuming he is also not playing men’s doubles, but we will find out today (Wednesday)
• (15) Mo Alhouni is in his hometown, can he make a run in front of his fans?
• (23) Grayson Goldin hasn’t really made a deep run in singles since signing with the PPA Tour exclusively - is Minnesota the place where he makes a quarter or semifinal run?

Predictions

• Seminfinalists: (10) Noe Khlif, (6) Roscoe Bellamy, (5) Chris Haworth, and (3) Christian Alshon 
• Finals: Haworth beats Bellamy in two

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

• Since Ben Johns is not playing this event at all, Anna Leigh Waters is not playing mixed doubles
• The silver medalists from the Masters, (1) Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin are looking for gold in Minnesota
• (8) Tina Pisnik and Noe Khlif won bronze in the Masters - can they make a deep run again in Minnesota?
• (5) Federico Staksrud and Alix Truong are teaming up again after winning the 2025 PPA Tour Asia Hangzhou Open in early December

Predictions

• Seminfinalists: (1) Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin, (3) Catherine Parenteau/Gabe Tardio, (2) Hurricane Tyra Black/Christian Alshon, and (4) Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu 
• Finals: AB and Hayden beat Parris and Andrei in four

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• This is the only event Anna Leigh Waters is playing in Minnesota, so I expect her to be fresh and hungry each time she plays
• As previously mentioned, Parris Todd is back and playing with Hurricane Tyra Black
• (4) Lacy Schneemann is coming off a semifinal run at the Masters with Etta Tuionetoa, let’s see what she can do with another Utahn, in Meghan Dizon this week
• (2) Rachel Rohrabacher and Catherine Parenteau have just a little bit more on the line this week, as Rohrabacher is only playing women’s doubles, as Will Howells had to pull out of mixed

Predictions

• Seminfinalists: (1) Anna Bright/Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Lacy Schneemann/Meghan Dizon, (2) Catherine Parenteau/Rachel Rohrabacher, and (3) Parris Todd/Hurricane Tyra Black
• Finals: AB and ALW beat Parris and Tyra in three

Men's Doubles

Top Storylines

• With no Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio is partnering with Andrei Daescu, and they are the #1 seed
• JW Johnson is also missing, so CJ Klinger is partnering with Fed Staksrud, and they are the #3 seed
• I am excited to see The Lab players (15) Carlos Di Laura and Zane Navratil partner up for a tournament
• I have a feeling the (11) Rafa Hewett and Collin Johns vs. (21) Greg Dow and James Delgado could get a little spicy - I hope that one is streamed  

Predictions

• Seminfinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Andrei Daescu, (7) Max Freeman/Tyson McGuffin, (2) Christian Alshon/Hayden Patriquin, and (4) Dylan Frazier/Eric Oncins
• Finals: Alshon and Patriquin beat Tardio and Daescu in four

Header Graphic courtesy of the PPA Tour