The PPA Tour is leaving the United States for the first time ever! The Proton Australia Pickleball Open will be held in Melbourne, Victoria’s capital, and the second-largest city in Australia. Action will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
By the way, I looked it up, and Melbourne is NOT pronounced "Mel-born," it is "Mel-ben" - for those of you in the know.
Play is set to begin on Tuesday, January 28th (USA) or Wednesday, January 29th (Australia). Yes, it gets a little complicated for the broadcast. Let’s break that down first.
Broadcast Schedule
Reminder - Australia is a day ahead of the US. Play starting at 10am in Australia on Thursday, means it starts at 6pm on Wednesday. This also means that Championship Sunday in Australia actually means Championship Saturday evening in the US.
*Note* - Usually there are two streamed courts, but it looks like there is only one streamed court in Australia.
As I am sure there are going to be both US based fans reading this, and Australian based fans, I am listing broadcast times for both.
USA Wednesday, Jan 29th 6pm-2am ET | AUS Thursday, January 30th - 10am-6pm AEDT
- Singles - Championship Court - PickleballTV
USA Thursday, Jan 30th 6pm-2am ET | AUS Friday, January 31st - 10am-6pm AEDT
- Mixed Doubles - Championship Court - PickleballTV
USA Friday, January 31st 6pm-2am ET | AUS Saturday, February 1st - 10am-6pm AEDT
- Gender Doubles - Championship Court - PickleballTV
USA Saturday, February 1st 6pm-2am ET | AUS Sunday, February 2nd - 10am-6pm AEDT
- Championships - Championship Court - PickleballTV
Weather Outlook
Wind shouldn’t be an issue, and it doesn’t look like there is any precipitation anticipated. However, I do think the heat will become a factor during the weekend. Another forecast I saw said Sunday could become as hot as 98 degrees. And there is high humidity in Melbourne.
Player Highlights
As this is a big trip for the USA based players, about a baker’s dozen touring PPA pros are playing in the event:
- Tyson McGuffin - I am predicting three medals for McGuffin
- Gabe Tardio
- Jessie Irvine
- Zane Navratil
- Hurricane Tyra Black
- Lacy Schneemann
- Quang Duong
- Viv Glozman
- CJ Klinger
- Alix Truong
- Kaitlyn Christian
- Allyce Jones
- Jay Devilliers
- Collin Johns
Obviously, there are plenty of Australian pros, ready to put their skills to the test against the best of the best American players. This is just a list of the top level Australian talent - there are plenty more players playing this event:
- Danni-Elle Townsend - The overall best woman
- Somer Dalla-Bona - The best singles player
- Nicola Schoeman - 16-year-old overall #1 MLP Australia draftee
- Joey Wild - The best Australian player
- Lucas Pascoe - A former MLP Australia winner
- George Wall - Another former MLP Australia winner
Other international players are playing in the PPA Australia Open, as it is the closest event to their home countries:
- Harsh Mehta - One of the top players from India (Of note, he is a lefty)
- Roos Van Reek - The best player from the Netherlands
Let’s get into the action!
Overall Storylines
This is an Open on the PPA Tour
As the name suggests, this is an Open level event, earning the winners 1,000 points. The Australian players can earn real PPA Points for the 2025 PPA season. On the PPA Draw Show with Dave Fleming, he hinted some of these Australians may be coming to the US to continue pursuing their pro careers.
The seeding of this event was tough
The PPA events in the US are easy to create the draws - The PPA uses the last 52 weeks’ PPA Points to determine seeding (ranking). They randomize some of the seeds to ensure competitive balance and stop the same matchups from happening time and again.
However, at this event, many of the players don’t have ANY PPA Points, so it must have been difficult for the bracket maker(s). Expect some early round upsets because of this. Just because a team is a 5 seed, doesn’t mean they are THAT MUCH better than another team who is the 14 seed.
Women’s Singles

Top Seeds
- Kaitlyn Christian
- Ekaterina Biakina
- Jessie Irvine
- Lara Giltanan
Top Storylines
- In the last two PPA Tour events, Kaitlyn Christian won the PPA Daytona Beach and won a silver medal at the PPA Masters. She is the runaway favorite to win the tournament.
- I don’t know the last time I saw Jessie Irvine play singles, so for her to be the three seed is pretty crazy.
- There are 21 players in the women’s singles draw, so the top 16 seeds will get a bye into the Round of 16.
Player(s) to look out for
- (12) Somer Dalla-Bonna is probably the best Australian singles player right now, and she is paired up against the best doubles player in Australia (16) Danni-Elle Townsend, in her first matchup. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dalla-Bonna makes a semi-final run.
- 16-year-old (13) Nicola Shoeman was the #1 overall draftee in the 2025 MLP Australia draft. She is a star on the rise, but could run into (5) Helena Spiridis in her second round match. Spiridis is one of the Australian players who is looking to play in the US on the PPA Tour this year.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Kaitlyn Christian, (13) Nicola Schoeman, (2) Ekaterina Biakina, (12) Somer Dalla-Bonna
- Finalists: Kaitlyn Christian wins her second PPA Tour event in the last three over Somer Dalla-Bonna
Men’s Singles

Top Seeds
- Tyson McGuffin
- Quang Duong
- Gabe Tardio
- Dave Bacalla
Top Storylines
- (1) Tyson McGuffin is a super steady singles player, regularly making quarters and semi-final runs on the PPA Tour.
- (2) Quang Duong seems to have fixed his paddle problems and I believe he will be playing with a Selkirk paddle in this event.
- (6) Tom Evans has previously come to the US and actually has some main draw wins in men’s singles. He is another of the rumored Aussies who will be making another trip to the US in the 2025 season.
Player(s) to look out for
- (9) Zach Grabovic is a very good singles player, but is coming off a hip surgery from 2024. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a deep run.
- (58) Andy Horridge is one of the best Aussies and, in my opinion, vastly under seeded.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Tyson McGuffin, (4) Dave Bacalla, (2) Quang Duong, and (6) Tom Evans
- Finals: Quang Duong beats McGuffin for his first win of 2025
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Mixed Doubles

Top seeds
- Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio
- Lacy Schneemann/Tyson McGuffin
- CJ Klinger/Hurricane Tyra Black
- Allyce Jones/Jay Devilliers
Top Storylines
- (1) Jessie Irvine and Gabe Tardio won the PPA Utah Open and are definitely the top seed and favorite for the event.
- (6) Viv Glozman/Quang Duong is a new partnership. At the Masters, Viv G was in the news, as she doesn’t have a PPA contract, and was forced through qualifiers. I don’t know if she is making main draw because there is a lack of teams in Australia, or if she signed with PPA. Time will tell.
- (7) Roos Van Reek/Zane Navratil is the highest seeded team that doesn’t involve two US based players. Roos is a very good elite player, so this could be a very good team.
Teams to watch out for
- (36) Danni-Elle Townsend/Joey Wild are wildly under seeded. They are the best man and woman in Australia in doubles, so I am expecting this team to go far.
- (27) Katy Hart/Lucas Pascoe is a very good Australian team (they are on the Eastern Rush in MLPA this year) that could make some moves.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio, (36) Danni-Elle Townsend/Joey Wild, (2) Lacy Schneemann/Tyson McGuffin, and (3) Hurricane Tyra Black/CJ Klinger
- Finals: Jessie and Gabe beat Lacy and Tyson in the finals
Women’s Doubles

Top seeds
- Allyce Jones/Hurricane Tyra Black
- Viv Glozman/Lacy Schneemann
- Alix Truong/Jessie Irvine
- Andie Dikosavljevic/Kaitlyn Christian
Top Storylines
- I think it’s going to be very difficult for anyone to take out the 1 or 2 seeds - they are far and away the two best teams in this draw.
- The best Australian duo in this draw is (5) Emilia Schmidt and Danni-Elle Townsend
- The highest seed that I think has a chance to make it to the semi-finals is (15) Nicola Shoeman and Sarah Burr - but they face the 1 seed in their second round matchup, if they win their first.
Predictions
- Semi-finalists: (1) Allyce Jones/HTB, (5) Emilia Schmidt/Danni-Elle Townsend, (2) Viv Glozman/Lacy Schneemann, and (3) Alix Truong/Jessie Irvine
- Finals: Viv G and Lacy beat Allyce and Tyra in the finals
Men’s Doubles

Top seeds
- Tyson McGuffin/Gabe Tardio
- Collin Johns/Jay Devilliers
- CJ Klinger/Quang Duong
- Joey Wild/Zane Navratil
Top Storylines
- Tyson and Gabe are a new, unique partnership. Even if it’s for a one off tournament, this one should be fun.
- Joey Wild is one of two Australians to get a top four seed with Zane Navratil (the other being Andie with Kaitlyn Christian). They are good friends from when Wild lived in Austin.
- (6) Bao Duong and Phuc Huynh make for an interesting partnership. Bao is Quang’s little brother. The 14 year old is often seen at the PPA events, helping his brother train.
Teams to watch out for
- (10) Jai Grewal and Zack Taylor - Jai is the best New Zealander at this tournament, I believe. And you may recognize Zack as zacktheredhead on IG. Could make for a good pairing.
Prediction
- Semi-finalists: (1) Tyson/Gabe, (4) Joey Wild/Zane Navratil, (2) Collin/Jay, and (3) CJ and Quang
- Finals: CJ and Quang take down Tyson and Gabe for a gold medal
