From Beijing to Madrid, Colorado Springs to England, and from APP Next to Vietnam, the weekend produced champions across every level of the sport. Some left with a single title. Others left with multiple gold medals and growing reputations.

  • Millie Smythe, Joshua Bright, Sahra Dennehy and Roos Van Reek were among the biggest winners of the weekend.
  • Madrid delivered one of the largest pickleball events yet staged in Spain, with players from 25 countries and more than 770 entries.
  • Across multiple continents, familiar names kept appearing on podiums, offering a clear snapshot of where momentum is building.

The Weekend at a Glance

The challenge with modern pickleball is not finding tournaments.

It is keeping track of who is winning them.

On any given weekend, championships are taking place across multiple continents, from elite professional events to emerging regional tours, national championships and development circuits. Results can easily disappear into the noise.

This weekend produced a clear group of standout performers.

Some collected multiple gold medals. Others strengthened their position within growing regional tours. All left with momentum.

Dennehy Leads the Way in Beijing

Few players had a stronger weekend than Australia’s Sahra Dennehy at the Capital Securities Beijing Open.

Dennehy captured Women’s Singles gold with an 11-7, 11-3 victory over Chao Yi Wang before returning to claim Women’s Doubles gold alongside Yufei Long. A triple crown briefly looked possible before Dennehy and Joseph Wild fell to Wang and Len Yang in the Mixed Doubles final.

While Dennehy finished with two titles rather than three, she again reinforced her status as one of the defining players of the PPA Tour Asia season.

The Men’s Singles title went to Hong Kong’s Hong Kit Wong, who defeated Zane Ford 11-5, 11-8 to secure his second PPA Tour Asia singles crown.

Madrid Produces a European Showcase

Spain’s Madrid Open may have delivered the most significant event of the weekend from a participation perspective.

Held in Plaza de España, the Cervezas Victoria Pickle Pro Tour stop attracted 771 individual entries from 25 nationalities and featured more than 1,100 matches across three days.

The professional finals produced several notable champions.

Sabrina Méndez captured the Women’s Singles title by defeating María Costantino, while Bálint Gergo Bakó won Men’s Singles after overcoming Héctor Sánchez Vidal.

Bakó’s weekend became even more impressive when he partnered Ben Cawston to secure Men’s Doubles gold against Daniel Vega and Alberto Horcajuelo.

In Women’s Doubles, Allison Reichert and Glauka Carvajal defeated Karolina Owczarek and Claudia Caymel in what organisers described as one of the best finals in Pickle Pro Tour history.

Carvajal was not finished there. She returned later in the day to win Mixed Doubles alongside Brandon Lane, defeating Jorge Rodriguez and María Costantino.

Smythe and Bright Sweep England

At WPC England, Millie Smythe and Joshua Bright emerged as the dominant figures.

Smythe claimed Women’s Singles gold ahead of Rachel McCrae and Eleanor Tomkinson before adding Women’s Doubles gold alongside Tomkinson. She completed a remarkable weekend by partnering Louis Laville to Mixed Doubles gold.

Bright matched that multi-medal success on the men’s side.

He captured Men’s Singles gold before teaming with Louis Laville to win Men’s Doubles.

Few players anywhere in the world collected more silverware over the weekend than Smythe.

Van Reek Shines in Vietnam

The D-Joy Vietnam event also produced several repeat winners.

Roos Van Reek enjoyed one of the strongest tournaments of anyone in the field, capturing Women’s Singles gold after defeating Domenika Turkovic before adding Women’s Doubles gold alongside Vivian Glozman.

The Mixed Doubles title went to Jack Munro and Van Reek, giving the Dutch player a third championship of the event.

Elsewhere, Phuc Huynh defeated Quang Duong to secure Men’s Singles gold, while Harsh Mehta and Quang Duong claimed the Men’s Doubles title.

APP Next’s Rising Names

The APP Next circuit continues to provide a glimpse into the next generation of North American talent.

Jae Centonze collected Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles gold, while Emilia Schmidt matched the feat by winning Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles titles.

Connor DuVally, Abigail O’Kelley and Jayden Broderick also left with gold medals as several of the circuit’s emerging players continued to build momentum.

A Championship of Its Own in Colorado Springs

Away from the professional tours, the inaugural USA Pickleball Wheelchair National Championships delivered one of the most important milestones of the weekend.

More than 90 athletes competed in the first wheelchair-exclusive national championship sanctioned by USA Pickleball.

Jason Keatseangsilp emerged as the standout performer, collecting three gold medals, including victory in the co-ed singles advanced/open final.

The significance extended beyond the medal table.

For the first time, wheelchair pickleball had a national championship entirely of its own.

The Weekend’s Biggest Winners

If one theme connected the weekend, it was repetition.

The same names kept appearing.

Millie Smythe. Joshua Bright. Sahra Dennehy. Roos Van Reek. Jason Keatseangsilp. Bálint Gergo Bakó. Glauka Carvajal. Jae Centonze.

Those are the players who leave the weekend carrying momentum.

And in a sport where the calendar rarely pauses, momentum can quickly become the most valuable currency of all.

Further Reading

Photo of Chris Beaumont

Chris Beaumont

Founder and Editor-in-Chief
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…

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