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Professional pickleball battled extreme weather conditions in Texas over the weekend, where Anna Leigh Waters secured yet another Triple Crown amidst severe winds. Meanwhile, international circuits saw significant milestones, with Hong Kit Wong dominating the PPA125 in Sydney and Arjun Singh completing a remarkable hat-trick of titles at the Picklebay Zonals in Pune, India.
Chaos and Triumphs at the PPA Texas Open
The Veolia PPA Texas Open in McKinney concluded on Sunday under exceptionally difficult weather conditions, with wind gusts exceeding 40mph heavily influencing play. Despite the challenging environment, which caused a ten-minute suspension during the men’s doubles final and a forty-minute delay prior to the women’s singles championship, Anna Leigh Waters successfully secured her 42nd career Triple Crown. Waters remained undefeated across all three disciplines, accumulating a 35-1 game record for the tournament. Her sole dropped game occurred in the mixed doubles final, where she and partner Ben Johns defeated Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, successfully avenging their previous defeat in Mesa. In the women’s doubles, Waters and Bright defeated Parris Todd and Alix Truong in straight games, while Waters comfortably overcame Kate Fahey 11-1, 11-6 in the singles final once the wind speeds dropped below 30mph. In the men’s singles division, Federico Staksrud claimed his second title of the 2026 season by defeating Chris Haworth. After losing the opening game 2-11, Staksrud adapted his tactics to the severe wind, favouring forward movement and angled shots to win the subsequent games 11-5, 11-5. Elsewhere, Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns continued their dominant run in the men’s doubles, extending their undefeated streak to thirty matches and six consecutive tournament victories by defeating Andrei Daescu and Staksrud 11-0, 12-10, 11-7. The weekend also saw notable performances further down the draws, including Alix Truong reaching her first Championship Sunday on American soil to secure a silver medal in women’s doubles, and the Atlanta Bouncers pairing of Jay Devilliers and Jaume Martinez Vich earning a well-deserved bronze in the men’s doubles after defeating CJ Klinger and JW Johnson.
APAC Region Sees Double Gold for Wong and Townsend
Competitive pickleball in the Asia-Pacific region showcased significant developments over the weekend, highlighted by the conclusion of two major tournaments: the PPA125 event in Sydney, Australia, and the World Pickleball Championship (WPC) Asia Pickleball Open. The PPA125 Sydney tournament, which drew a substantial field of 451 competitors between the 12th and 15th of March, was dominated by standout individual performances. Hong Kit Wong delivered a highly impressive campaign, securing a double gold medal haul. Wong claimed the men’s pro singles title by defeating Mitchell Hargreaves in the final, before partnering with Eunggwon Kim to capture the men’s pro doubles championship ahead of silver medallists Ryan Henry Harrison and Harrison Brown. A similar level of dominance was displayed in the women’s divisions by Danni-Elle Townsend, who also earned two gold medals. Townsend partnered with Sahra Dennehy to win the women’s pro doubles, and later teamed up with Joseph Wild to take the mixed pro doubles title, overcoming the pairing of Nicola Schoeman and Mitchell Hargreaves. In the women’s pro singles, Andie Dikosavljevic secured the gold medal, relegating Schoeman to a second silver finish for the tournament. Simultaneously, the five-day WPC Asia Pickleball Open concluded on the 15th of March, featuring highly competitive 5.0-level brackets. In the premier 19+ singles divisions, Lam Ying Suet captured the women’s gold medal by defeating Mihika Yadav, whilst Jose Maria Pague claimed the men’s title with a victory over Sonu Kumar Vishwakarma. The senior categories also produced notable champions, with Pini Lee securing the women’s 50+ singles gold and I Gusti Ngurah Alit Putra Hariwibawa emerging victorious in the men’s 50+ singles division.
Arjun Singh Secures Hat-Trick at Picklebay Zonals in India
The domestic professional circuit in India reached another milestone this week with the conclusion of the Picklebay Zonals – West in Pune. The PWR 700 tournament, sanctioned by the Indian Pickleball Association, featured several of the region’s leading players and culminated in a sweeping success for Arjun Singh. Singh achieved a remarkable hat-trick of titles across the event’s premier disciplines. He secured the Pro Men’s Singles championship and partnered with Naomi Amalsadiwala to claim the Mixed Doubles trophy. His most demanding victory, however, occurred in the Pro Men’s Doubles final, where he partnered with his brother, Aditya Singh. The sibling pairing faced a resilient challenge from Ammol Ramchandani and Stavya Bhasin, resulting in a gruelling three-game contest. After the Singh brothers took the opening game 11-4, Ramchandani and Bhasin edged a tightly contested second game 11-10 to force a decider. The Singh brothers ultimately held their nerve to win the final game 11-8 and secure the gold medal. In the Open Women’s Doubles division, Isha Lakhani and Naimi Mehta delivered a highly controlled performance to win the title. The duo advanced to the final following a straight-games semifinal victory and proceeded to dominate the championship match against Shreya Chakraborty and Rakshikha Ravi, winning decisively with a scoreline of 11-4, 11-4. Chakraborty and Ravi had previously staged a significant comeback in their semifinal to reach the title match. Elsewhere in the tournament, Raaquib Merchant and Priyanka Mehta recorded a commanding 15-4 victory over Ratnam Shah and Khushi Desai to win the Advanced Mixed Doubles category. Additionally, Ammol Ramchandani recovered from his narrow defeat in the Pro Men’s Doubles to secure the Open 35+ Split Age Men’s Doubles title alongside Rohan Gajjar, relying on their collective experience to defeat Aman Patel and Ravi Ranjan 15-10.
From extreme weather testing the resilience of the world’s elite in Texas to the continued emergence of dominant regional champions across Australia and India, the professional game continues to evolve rapidly; to stay informed on all global developments, subscribe to our weekly newsletter via the World Pickleball Report.
Further Reading
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