The PPA served up shake-ups, “pickles”, and first-time gold medals at the Kansas City Open August 7-11. In men’s singles, Connor Garnett recovered from a “pickle” and battled it out with Tyson McGuffin to secure the gold medal. Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau cruised to the medal stand in women’s doubles. Waters sat out of the women’s singles event, which led to some upsets. Kate Fahey and Mari Humberg both had impressive runs, defeating top-seeded players along the way. Ultimately, Brooke Buckner earned gold, Fahey took the silver medal, and Humberg claimed the bronze, her first-ever PPA singles medal. Men’s doubles saw Federico Staksrud and Gabe Tardio take gold over #1 seeds JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier. This marked the first gold medal for Gabe Tardio.
The PPA Tour then headed to Tennessee for the PPA Bristol Open. In men’s singles, Federico Staksrud handed Quang Duong a “double pickle” to make it to the finals. Staksrud finished with the silver medal and Ben Johns emerged victorious with the gold. Quang Duong secured a comeback victory with men’s doubles partner Christian Alshon. Duong and Alshon defeated the Johns brothers to claim the gold medal. This victory marks Duong’s inaugural PPA gold medal win. In women’s singles, Brooke Buckner defeated a slew of top-seeded players on her path to securing her second singles gold medal in a row.
For a full recap on this event, check out the following:
- Big Weekends For Staksrud And Humberg At The Selkirk Kansas City Pro Pickleball Open
- Duong Wins First Gold And Johns Wins Singles Duel At Rainy Pro Pickleball Bristol Open
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for more pro pickleball action in August and September! 📆
