The Report
Sock knocks out Staksrud — Worlds finally has a story
Good morning, pickleballers.
Jack Sock, seeded 13, beat second seed Federico Staksrud 3-11, 11-6, 11-8 in Thursday's men's singles last 16 at Worlds. He faces fifth seed Roscoe Bellamy in Friday's quarter-finals. Sock supplied the round's only men's singles seed upset.
Also today: Challenger singles semis are set after Masa Grgan finished 0-3; USA Pickleball has delisted CPX Hyper+ paddles; and LEARN for 3.0 to 3.5.
The Lead · Worlds singles
Sock knocks out Staksrud. Bellamy is next
Jack Sock won only three points in the opening game against Federico Staksrud. Two games later, the second seed was out: 11-6, then 11-8. The No 13 seed has removed No 2. He has not inherited the favourite's place. Bellamy stands in the way.
The other seven men's last-16 matches all went to the higher seed. The quarter-final board is Haworth–Goins, Alshon–Martinez Vich, Sock–Bellamy and Hunter Johnson–Wong. Sock owns the headline. Haworth and Hunter Johnson still have the cleaner claims on the tournament.
Bellamy beat Luc Pham 11-4, 11-7 after Pham had dismantled Zane Ford a round earlier. Sock is now singles-only for the week: he and Augustus Ge are out of men's doubles, and he and Lacy Schneemann are out of mixed. Thursday's comeback is evidence he can survive a bad opening against a high seed. It is not evidence he can afford another one.
Why it matters: a draw that had already lost Ben Johns now has a different sort of disruption — a crossover player beating one of its strongest seeds, not a famous doubles player failing to survive singles. Main-draw quarter-final coverage from 17:00 London.
Challenger · Singles results
Grgan falls short. The semis are set
Martin Stanchev, Matt Burkhardt, Jessica Ho and Eileen Wang all went 3-0. William Hsieh and Troy Akin, Kelsey Laurente and Shannon Pretorius qualified as runners-up. Masa Grgan, the Challenger rankings' No 2, finished 0-3 — including two deciding-game losses. She scored 65 points across seven games and still left without a win.
Stanchev beat Hsieh 11-9, 11-6 to top men's pool one. Burkhardt conceded only 33 points in six games. On the women's side, Ho topped her group after two completed matches and a walkover; Wang survived two deciding games to take pool two. Saturday's semis cross each pool winner against the other pool's runner-up: Burkhardt–Hsieh, Stanchev–Akin, Wang–Laurente and Ho–Pretorius. None is a Thursday rematch.
The men's and women's champions each earn a 2027 PPA Tour contract. Doubles and mixed pools remain 0-0 on every sheet.
Why it matters: Thursday cut sixteen singles players to eight. Saturday decides who gets a Tour contract.
Equipment · USA Pickleball
USAP delists CPX Hyper+. The fine question is open
On 2 November, USA Pickleball removed the CPX Hyper+ 14mm and Hyper+ 16mm from its certified list after market samples showed a significant difference in PBCoR and deflection from the paddles that earned approval. Recreational play is unaffected. Sanctioned USAP competition is not. No fine has been announced.
CPX has acknowledged that some recent production units came out hotter than the certified specification and says a Hyper+ 2 is in recertification. Secondary reporting says financial penalties are "in consideration." Nothing in USA Pickleball's own statement confirms a dollar figure. Until a penalty is in writing, delisting is the competitive fact; a fine would be a commercial one.
Why it matters: Facolos earlier this year, Hyper+ now — the trust question keeps moving upstream. Was the paddle in the bag the paddle that was approved?
WPM Learn
27 free lessons for 3.0 to 3.5. Ranked by players, not views
LEARN is live on World Pickleball Magazine: 27 free lessons for players moving from 3.0 to 3.5, ranked by what real players recommend — not views. It is a curated YouTube library on WPM, not a WPM course or academy. Only the 3.0→3.5 path is live.
That's the Report
Worlds men's singles quarter-finals run from 17:00 London. Challenger singles semis decide two 2027 PPA contracts on Saturday. LEARN is open for anyone stuck between 3.0 and 3.5.