The 2025 USAP Nationals took place at the Barnes Tennis Center, in San Diego, California this past weekend. Rain played a huge part in the event, really causing issues for amateurs in the early part of the tournament. However, pickleball must go on, and USAP was able to complete the tournament on time.

There were some familiar faces on the pro podium this year, as many APP Tour professionals won medals in San Diego. Let’s get into the top storylines.

Sofia Sewing Earns Doubles Gold with Casey Diamond

Sewing has been the top APP Tour singles player all year and she didn’t stop at Nationals. Sofia didn’t drop a game until the finals, where she faced off against Katerina Stewart. Nationals played singles differently from the APP Tour, in that each match was games to 11, win by two, side out scoring. The APP Tour does games to 15, rally scoring.

Sofia beat her first three opponents 66-17 before the finals. In the finals, Stewart won game one, 11-5, but then Sewing came right back, winning 11-5, 11-5.

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In mixed doubles, Sewing and Diamond faced some tough competition for gold. The semifinal against Jack Munro and Megan Fudge was the closest it could have possibly been. The scoreline was 12-10, 9-11, 12-10, in favor of Sewing/Diamond.

In the finals, more of the same: they beat Aidan Schenk and Jill Braverman, 11-9, 11-9. Sewing and Diamond proved they were able to perform well under pressure, winning four of their last five games by two points.

Sewing earned over $18,000 in prize money on the weekend and Diamond earne $9,000 for the win.

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Patrick Kawka Earned his First Gold in Singles

Patrick Kawka is known for having one of the hardest hit forehands on tour, but has never won gold. His luck turned around in San Diego. Kawka (pronounced Kof-ka) never lost a game on his way to the finals, beating Naveen Beasley in the semis.

In the finals, Kawka faced off against Ronan Camron, who just won the APP Mesa Open a couple week ago.

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The final scoreline of the championship is one of the craziest I have seen: 6-11, 11-0, 11-6, in favor of Kawka. Yes, he pickled Camron in the second game. Kawka’s big serve and drive really took over from game one to two and then it was smooth sailing.

Megan Fudge and Jill Braverman Earn Another Gold

Fudge and Braverman have been the class of the APP Tour in 2025, winning nearly every gold possible (they missed a couple). Nationals was no different.

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They won their first three matches by a combined score of 66-19. In the finals, they faced Simone Jardim and Christine Maddox, beating them 11-3, 7-11, 11-3.

Both Fudge and Braverman took home over $10,000 in prize money on the weekend with the win and their deep runs in mixed doubles.

Jack Munro and Richard Livornese Jr. Earn Gold for the First Time Together

If Fudge and Braverman had smooth sailing, Munro and Livornese Jr. had exactly the OPPOSITE of that. Each of the last three matches went to three games for the new partnership.

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In the quarters, Munro and Livornese Jr. beat Brandon Lane and Robert Slutksy, 10-12, 11-6, 11-3. In the semis, they beat Ronan Camron and Etienne Blaszkewycz, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4.

In the finals, they faced off against one of the APP Tour’s top teams in Erik Lange and Max “Purple Jesus” Manthou. Munro and Livornese Jr. won game one, 11-8. Manthou and Lange came back to win game two, 11-4. In game three, they were too much, winning 11-6.