The Veolia Arizona Open Tournament Preview

The second stop of the 2026-2027 Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour season is underway in Mesa, Arizona. The Arizona Athletic Grounds is hosting the tournament and this is the first of two tournaments at the venue this season.

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This Open is worth 1,000 PPA Points and since some players were overseas at the PPA Tour Asia Malaysia Cup this past week, and other players are just taking a break from action, there are a ton of new partnerships and seeds.

One big storyline headed into this one is the new World Pickleball Rankings (WPR) affecting byes and main draw bids. These new rules are really affecting men’s singles the most.

On one hand, both Ben Johns (22 seed) and Andrei Daescu (45 seed) both got double byes to the Round of 16 because of their WPR. In that same draw, both (1) Chris Haworth and (3) Hunter Johnson have to play in the Round of 64 and get two wins to just make it to the Round of 16.

On the other hand, both Matthew Barlow and Alex Crum, two extremely good singles players, were forced to play pro qualifiers in singles, due to their WPR, despite both being top 40 in terms of men’s singles.

We will see how this continues to play out during the rest of the season. I expect some changes to this format at the start of 2027.

The other big storyline is the unique partnerships for this tournament. Some top level players are not playing in this tournament, making for newer pairings.

Players not playing in Mesa: Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patriquin, Anna Bright, Jorja Johnson, JW Johnson, Alix Truong, and Tama Shimabukuro, among others.

Weather Outlook

After a brutally hot first event back in North Carolina, the PPA Tour is once again in the heat in the desert this week. Qualifiers day on Monday was really tough, with players laboring in the heat and I saw a few medical timeouts. Wednesday is really the issue day, as storms are scheduled in the afternoon. After that, the weather should be good, but the storms will bring some unusual humidity, so even the weekend will be tough. Because Mesa is at elevation, despite the hot and humid temperatures, the ball is flying true and even playing a bit fast.

Broadcast Schedule and How to Watch the Veolia Arizona Open

*All times listed are local Pacific Time

Firefight is back on the PPA Streamed Courts YouTube Channel for Wednesday and Thursday action.

Thursday, September 17 - Round of 16

2pm - 10pm - Pickleballtv

Friday, September 18 - Quarterfinals

2pm - 4pm - Pickleballtv
4pm - 6pm - FS1 (Exclusive)
6pm - 10pm - Pickleballtv

Saturday, September 19 - Semifinals

2pm - 10pm - Pickleballtv
4pm - 6pm - FS2 (Concurrent)

Sunday, September 20 - Championships

2pm - 4pm - Pickleballtv
4pm - 6pm - FS1 (Exclusive)
6pm - 10pm - Pickleballtv

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines:

All of the top players are at this one - the only player in the top 10 that is not playing in the event is Aussie Sahra Dennehy
(1) Anna Leigh Waters is still undefeated in over two years and doesn’t seem like she can be stopped
(8) Kiora Kunimoto was the last player to take a game off Anna Leigh, and that could very well be a quarterfinal matchup
(3) Kaitlyn Christian and (4) Brooke Buckner literally just played in the PPA Tour Malaysia Cup singles finals on Sunday, and then flew 20+ hours to play in Mesa - will the travels affect their play?

Predictions:

Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Kaitlyn Christian, (2) Kate Fahey, and (5) Lea Jansen
Finals: Anna Leigh wins another title in the desert over Kate Fahey

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines:

I gave it away in the opening section of this article, but the top storyline in singles is (45) Daescu and (22) Johns getting double byes to the Round of 16, while (1) Chris Haworth and (3) Hunter Johnson are somehow playing in the Round of 64
Johnson just won the National Championships in Cary, North Carolina two weeks ago, can he make it back to back tournaments to start the 26-27 campaign?
Since 2024, (2) Federico Staksrud and (22) Johns have played six times - Ben Johns has won all six - they could face off in the quarterfinals of this one - the last time they played? Here in Mesa in the Mesa Cup in February in the quarters, where Ben won

Predictions:

Semifinalists: (1) Chris Haworth, (4) Christian Alshon, (2) Federico Staksrud, and (3) Hunter Johnson
Finals: Haworth beats Johnson in the finals

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines:

With the Johnson siblings resting during this event, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher and Christian Alshon move up a seed
The potential semifinal matchup on the right side of the bracket is great - Alshon and Daescu are playing men’s together, and Parris Todd and Rohrabacher are playing women’s together
(4) Tyra Black and Noe Khlif are a new partnership that could make some noise, but the potential quarterfinal matchup against Fahey and Staksrud will be tough
(1) Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns lost in the semis to Hayden Patriquin and Anna Bright - they have not lost two events in a row in forever

Predictions:

Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (6) Kate Fahey/Federico Staksrud, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher/Christian Alshon, and (3) Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu
Finals: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Rachel and Christian in the finals

Women's Doubles

Top Storylines:

With Anna Bright out, Anna Leigh Waters did not pick up a different women’s doubles partner, so the top seed is not playing in this one
(1) Rohrabacher and Todd are the beneficiaries of the Annas being out, getting the top seed
(5) Kate Fahey and Jamie Wei are a new partnership that is intriguing - they could face (4) Sofia Sewing and Catherine Parenteau in the quarters

Predictions:

Semifinalists: (1) Rachel Rohrabacher/Parris Todd, (4) Catherine Parenteau/Sofia Sewing, (2) Meghan Dizon/Tyra Black, and (3) Lacy Schneemann/Tina Pisnik
Finals: Rachel and Parris take down Lacy and Tina in the finals

Men's Doubles

Top Storylines:

With the Hayden sitting this one out, Ben Johnson is partnering with Federico Staksrud and they the #1 seed
Cam Chaffin and CJ Klinger are the #3 seed, which is the best seed of Cam Chaffin’s young career, which also comes with pressure - they could face Pablo Tellez/Will Howells, and then potentially Augie Ge and Jack Sock to make the semis
Former Miami Pickleball Club teammates, Eric Oncins and Noe Khlif are running this one together and they are the #4 seed

Predictions:

Semifinalists: (1) Federico Staksrud/Ben Johns, (13) Pablo Tellez/Will Howells, (2) Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon, and (4) Eric Oncins/Noe Khlif
Finals: Ben and Fed beat Andrei and Christian for their first title together