What’s the Score?
Daytona Beach, USA – The Florida Dairy Farmers Daytona Beach Open will be remembered as the weekend the Johnson family needed extra luggage for their hardware. Siblings JW and Jorja Johnson were the undisputed stars of the event, combining to win four gold medals between them, including a dominant Mixed Doubles title. In singles, Chris Haworth played flawless pickleball to secure the men’s crown, while Catherine Parenteau ended a nearly two-year drought to return to the top of the women’s podium. The tournament concluded with an instant classic in Men’s Doubles, where JW Johnson and Augie Ge erased a massive deficit in the fifth game to claim gold.
Hit it deeper!
The narrative of the tournament was written by the Johnsons. In Mixed Doubles, the top-seeded siblings cruised past Kaitlyn Christian and Andrei Daescu 11-5, 11-1, 11-4, marking their fourth title together this year and Jorja’s second consecutive Daytona mixed title.
Jorja Johnson continued her winning ways in Women’s Doubles. Partnering with World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters for the first time, the duo didn’t drop a single game all tournament. They swept the finals against another first-time pairing, Tyra Black and Catherine Parenteau, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5. Waters praised the partnership, noting, “I felt like we were smiling the whole time… that’s what you want in a partner”.
The drama peaked in the Men’s Doubles final, dubbed the “match of the week.” JW Johnson, seeking his second gold of the day, paired with Dallas Flash teammate Augie Ge against Riley Newman and Noe Khlif. After splitting the first four games, Johnson and Ge found themselves down 3-10 in the deciding fifth game. In a stunning turnaround, they saved multiple match points to win 11-8, securing Ge’s first career PPA title. “I knew it was going to have some drama in the end… I just had to keep cool,” Ge said after the 2.5-hour marathon.
In singles, Chris Haworth delivered a “sensational” performance, decimating Gabe Joseph 11-5, 11-1. Commentators hailed it as one of the “cleanest Championship Sunday performances in PPA Tour history” due to his precision passing shots. On the women’s side, Catherine Parenteau overcame a difficult year to defeat Cinderella-story Katerina Stewart 11-4, 12-10. It was Parenteau’s first singles gold since 2023. “Finishing strong means a lot to me… not giving up, even though I went through a lot of hard times,” Parenteau reflected.
The World Pickleball Verdict
The PPA Daytona Beach Open served as a pivot point for the tour heading into 2026. First, the “Johnson Dynasty” is not just a catchy phrase; JW and Jorja are winning with various partners and dominating together, solidifying them as the tour’s most dangerous family unit.
Secondly, the competitive landscape is shifting. Riley Newman’s return to a final suggests the veteran is re-inspired, and the emergence of “Cinderella” runs from players like Katerina Stewart and Rafael Lenhard proves the qualifying draws are deeper than ever. Finally, for Catherine Parenteau and Augie Ge, this tournament was about exorcising demons—Parenteau proving she can still win solo, and Ge finally getting the “monkey off his back” to win gold. As the tour looks toward 2026, the psychological momentum from Daytona could be a game-changer for these athletes.
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 all levels of pickleball. Chris is also an avid player, currently struggling to make the breakthrough from 4.0 to 4.5.