Welcome to The Dink's Power Rankings, a new feature that we'll roll out every Monday, spotlighting a different category each week.
Fresh off the PPA Mesa Arizona Cup, we're following up on our Top 20 Men's Singles Power Rankings with a look at the ladies' game.
About This Women's Pickleball Power Ranking
These women's pickleball power rankings are a subjective view of the field. A variety of factors go into the evaluation, including stats, recent form, and the competitive landscape. Here are the specific factors used to determine the rankings:
- Recent finishes
- PPA Points — both total points (52 weeks) and the race points (just points in 2024)
- PPA seedings
- Head-to-head competitions
This is NOT a scientific algorithm or an AI bot making picks. I'm just a guy who watches a lot of pickleball. With that being said, I am only including players who have recently played on the PPA Tour.
Please note: Both Irena Tereschenko and Yana Newell had great seasons in 2023, but I haven't seen them play yet this year, so for now they are out of my power rankings.
Erik Tice
The women's side of things is a little more challenging to rank than the men's side. Everyone tries to play as much men's singles as possible. However, on the women's side we have 4-5 elite women who either don't play singles very often, or take quite a few events off, which makes the women's pickleball power ranking a little more challenging to compile.
The Top 20 Women's Pickleball Power Ranking
Here is a full breakdown of every player who earned a spot in this week's rankings, from No. 20 all the way to No. 1. The depth of the women's game right now makes this list particularly competitive.
Women's Pickleball Power Ranking: Nos. 20–16
20. Brooke Revuelta
The young lefty has been making a name for herself the last few months. Her first pro tournament and first singles tournament ever was in July 2023 when she fell to Anna Leigh Waters, 11-8, 11-9. Look for her to continue to make some waves.
19. Ekaterina Biakina
The Russian is relatively unknown. She hasn't really made waves in gender or mixed doubles, but has very solid results in singles. The former tennis player, turned beach tennis player, is now a pickleball singles specialist. We need to see more of her to be sure of her staying power, but her results don't lie.
In her last six events: 15th, 10th, 15th, 5th, and 19th.
18. Jill Braverman
Jilly B does not have a huge track record of dominant singles play. As I mentioned in my PPA Mesa Arizona Cup Recap, I think it was crazy she was forced to play in the qualifiers. She withdrew from The Masters but in Mesa, she proved she has what it takes to be a top 20 woman on tour.
She beat three people in the main draw before eventually losing to Mary Brascia. If Braverman continues to play singles, she will rise in this list.
The only reason Tyra is on this list is because of her win at the Takeya Showcase, when she beat Anna Leigh Waters and then Yana Newell to take the crown. She then followed up that performance with a 15th, 12th, and 17th-place finish.
The last singles event she played was in October at the PPA Las Vegas. If she doesn't play any singles in the month of March she will most likely not be on this list moving forward.
16. Jorja Johnson
Another victim of few results. Jorja does take some tournaments off when it comes to singles. She has skipped three of the last 10 PPA events.
In the seven events she did play, her average finish is 11th. Jorja got bronze in the Kansas City Open, but that was back in August. Her last three events: 17th, 14th, and 13th. If she can find the podium again soon she should move up in the women's singles rankings.
Nos. 15–11
15. Anna Bright
Let's face the facts: Anna Bright is easily a top 5 woman in singles. She just doesn't play enough to be higher. Bright got a 5th-place finish in Mesa.
Her only other singles event in the last eight months was the Cincinnati Open, and she actually withdrew from that event. Bright has all the tools to be top 5, but if she doesn't play in many singles events she will keep slipping in the rankings. She remains one of the most exciting players in the women's singles rankings whenever she chooses to compete.
14. Liz Truluck
Truluck seems to be working hard at pickleball, especially in singles. Has she had a breakthrough run on tour to become a household name yet? No.
However, she is playing every event, getting wins, and getting consistent finishes. She has played the last eight PPA events with an average finishing place of 13.8. Her worst finish was 22nd at the Kansas City Open. Her best finish came three weeks ago at PPA Desert Ridge at 6th place. Look for her to break out at some point this year.
13. Lacy Schneemann
If we were doing these at the end of 2023, Schneemann would have been in the 7-9 range. However, the start of 2024 hasn't been great for Lacy in terms of singles. She got upset by Parris Todd at The Masters, beat by Brooke Buckner in three at Desert Ridge, and then upset by Kaitlyn Christian in Mesa.
None of these losses are bad losses, obviously. This shows how much depth the women's singles rankings have right now. I think Lacy will bounce back and be a mainstay in the Top 10.
12. Lauren Stratman
Pop quiz: Aside from Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau, who has the most PPA women's singles medals in the last eight months? Brascia? Salome? Lea? NOPE. Lauren Stratman. Stratman got bronze at The Takeya Showcase, TOC, and The Hertz Gold Cup.
The reason Lauren isn't higher here is because although she has some great finishes, she also has some very inconsistent performances as well. She finished 19th at both PPA Las Vegas and The Masters, and followed that up with a 25th-place finish at Desert Ridge. When she is on, she is on. When she is off, she can produce some poor results. Her inconsistency keeps her out of the top 10 of the women's pickleball power ranking for now.
11. Parris Todd
Todd is a very good singles player. How good? We don't really know because she mostly played APPs last year. She started out this year strong with a 5th-place showing at The Masters and followed that up with a 4th at the APP Punta Gorda.
Hopefully we see her play more high-level competition throughout this year to get a true barometer for where her game is.
Nos. 10–6
10. Dominique Schaefer
Schaefer definitely made a name for herself in 2023. She did very well on the APP Tour in singles and even got a bronze medal at the PPA Las Vegas in October.
While 2024 hasn't gotten her off to a huge start, her 13th at The Masters and 14th finish in Mesa are putting her on track to stay among the top women on the PPA Tour. She has a little work to do to stay there.
The former tennis star (No. 38 in women's doubles in the world) has committed to full-time pickleball now. As Sports Illustrated has documented, the crossover of elite tennis talent to professional pickleball continues to reshape the women's game at the highest level.
She is extremely athletic, has amazing groundstrokes, and is still figuring out the game. She already has wins over Lacy Schneemann, Salome Devidze, and Brooke Buckner — all in our women's pickleball power ranking. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the year she was top 3.
8. Judit Castillo
Judit is more of an APP player than a PPA one. However, since the Tournament Of Champions in Utah, she has played in five PPA singles events. Her worst finish in those events was 8th at the Kansas City Open.
Judit also just won gold at the APP Punta Gorda. Castillo just needs more events to keep climbing the women's singles rankings.
7. Lina Padegimaite
Lina is not a super well-known name in pickleball, and when I was doing my research, I was surprised by her results. Padegimaite is big and athletic and can cover some serious court.
In the seven events prior to Mesa, she finished between 5th and 8th in every single event. She isn't winning anything, but she is consistently beating the people she should and making it to the quarterfinals almost every time she plays. Mesa was unlucky for her as she got put in the draw with Anna Bright, who everyone knows is not actually a No. 21 seed.
6. Brooke Buckner
Buckner didn't have many results in the latter half of 2023 because she gave birth to her daughter, Margo, in November. So, did Brooke have a child, take a few months to rest and recuperate before playing singles again? No way!
She got bronze at The Masters and finished in the quarterfinals of both PPA Desert Ridge and Mesa. In Mesa, she beat Kaitlyn Christian, avenging the loss to her at Desert Ridge. Buckner still has it with her crafty and consistent singles play.
Women's Pickleball Power Ranking: The Top 5
5. Salome Devidze
Salome still splits her time between the APP and PPA Tours. She played in five of the last 10 PPA events, with an average finish of 5.4. Devidze won the Hertz Gold Cup in November and got silver at TOC.
The veteran can still play singles at an extremely high level. She remains one of the top women on the PPA Tour whenever she chooses to show up.
4. Lea Jansen
Jansen is making a singles comeback. In 2023, when she announced she was retiring from singles, media outlets wondered when we would see Lea playing singles again. The answer? The Progressive Draw.
When Jansen is on, she is a force to be reckoned with. This year she has finished 4th, 4th, and 3rd. Her return is one of the most compelling storylines in the women's pickleball power ranking this season.
3. Mary Brascia
Back-to-back silver medals? No big deal. Brascia doesn't ever seem like the spotlight is too big. She is calm and determined when she is playing.
She has all the shots necessary to beat anyone on any given day. Mary has played the last 11 PPA events and finished outside of the quarterfinals only twice. Brascia is the clear-cut third-best woman on tour right now and a consistent contender at the top of the women's singles rankings.
This should give you an indication of how good Parenteau has been recently. Catherine had a TERRIBLE (haha) finish in Mesa, losing to Salome in three games in the quarterfinals for a 6th-place finish. In the seven events prior to that, Catherine had placed either first or second in every. single. one.
She is a more consistent finisher than Anna Leigh, but in the head-up battles, she loses. She remains firmly at No. 2 in the women's pickleball power ranking and shows no signs of fading.
Eight wins in the last 10 attempts. That's pretty good. Anna Leigh has the most wins and most medals in the last eight months on tour. She dominates the competition and shows that she has the most mental fortitude of anyone out there.
Her rise has been well-documented well beyond the pickleball community, with Sports Illustrated profiling her as one of the most dominant athletes in any emerging sport in America. Winning as consistently as she has is extremely hard to do. I don't see her losing the top spot in the women's pickleball power ranking anytime soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is currently No. 1 in the women's pickleball power ranking?
Anna Leigh Waters holds the top spot in The Dink's women's pickleball power ranking, with eight wins in her last 10 singles attempts. She has the most medals and the most wins on the PPA Tour over the last eight months, and her consistency at the top is unmatched.
How is The Dink's women's pickleball power ranking determined?
This women's pickleball power ranking is based on a combination of recent tournament finishes, PPA Tour points, PPA seedings, and head-to-head results. It is a subjective assessment rather than a strict algorithm, and it only includes players who have actively competed on the PPA Tour recently.
Why does the women's singles field have fewer events than the men's?
Many elite women on the PPA Tour also compete heavily in doubles and mixed doubles, which limits their singles appearances. Several top women, including Anna Bright and Jorja Johnson, routinely skip singles events, making the women's pickleball power ranking more challenging to compile than its men's counterpart.
Which players in the women's pickleball power ranking are most likely to move up next month?
Lacy Schneemann, Anna Bright, and Kaitlyn Christian are the three most likely movers in the women's singles rankings. Schneemann has the track record to bounce back, Bright has the raw talent to rocket into the top 5 whenever she commits to singles, and Christian is still learning the game but has already beaten multiple top-ranked opponents.
Is this women's pickleball power ranking updated regularly?
Yes, The Dink rolls out updated power rankings every Monday, covering a different category each week. As players compete in new events and results shift across the PPA Tour, the women's pickleball power ranking will be revisited to reflect the most current standings and form.
Love Pickleball? Join 100k+ readers for free weekly tips, news & gear deals.
Subscribe to The DinkGet 15% off pickleball gear at Midwest Racquet Sports
