Las Vegas starts to bite as the PPA heavyweights arrive

Good morning, pickleballers.

For two days, the Rate Las Vegas Open has been waiting for many of its biggest names. Wednesday made sure the tournament they enter today looks rather different from the one that began at Darling Tennis Center.

Connor Garnett is out of men’s singles. Tyson McGuffin has been eliminated from singles and men’s doubles. Collin Johns and Hunter Johnson have disappeared from the men’s doubles bracket, while Judit Castillo’s singles run ended only days after her Barcelona triple crown. Now the progressive draw reaches its pressure point.

Las Vegas has started to bite. Now the leading seeds have to respond.

Yates Johnson produced one of Wednesday’s biggest results by recovering from a game down to eliminate No. 6 seed Connor Garnett 6-11, 11-5, 12-10. Zane Ford then removed Tyson McGuffin 12-10, 11-7, opening another route into Friday’s quarter-finals.

Men’s doubles supplied another significant casualty. Collin Johns and Hunter Johnson won the opening game against Mohaned Alhouni and Luc Pham, only for Alhouni and Pham to turn the match around 5-11, 11-2, 11-6. McGuffin’s day deteriorated further when he and James Delgado were beaten by Casey Diamond and Max Freeman.

The consequence is a Round of 16 in which several leading seeds arrive fresh but immediately face opponents already accustomed to the Las Vegas courts. Ben Johns opens singles against Dylan Frazier, while Federico Staksrud faces Rafael Lenhard and Christian Alshon meets Jaume Martinez Vich.

Read the full Las Vegas report

Waters and Johns get no gentle introduction.

Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns begin their mixed doubles campaign against Jack Sock and Lea Jansen, who earned their place with an 11-7, 11-8 win over AJ Koller and Estee Widdershoven. It is an immediate test for the top seeds and the first step in Waters’ pursuit of a major career landmark.

Waters arrived in Las Vegas with 198 career PPA titles. With singles absent from her schedule, reaching 200 this week requires her to win mixed doubles alongside Johns and women’s doubles with Anna Bright.

Women’s singles has its own opening. Genie Bouchard faces Mary Brascia after both produced convincing Round of 32 victories, while Kate Fahey, Kaitlyn Christian and Lea Jansen enter a draw guaranteed to produce a champion other than Waters.

See the Round of 16 matches to watch

Three numbers to keep in mind.

198 career PPA titles for Anna Leigh Waters, leaving two required in Las Vegas to reach 200.

11-2, 11-6 Mary Brascia’s scoreline against Chloe Igleski before today’s meeting with Genie Bouchard.

1,000 ranking points available to the champions at this week’s PPA Open.

More than the daily headlines

The September edition of World Pickleball Magazine goes deeper into the people, technology, culture and structures shaping the sport around the world. Read it online or download the issue free.

Read Issue #20 free

Make your next tournament easier to follow

World Pickleball Studio adds commentary, graphics and studio presentation to live tournament coverage, giving viewers a clearer sense of the players, stories and matches in front of them.

Visit World Pickleball Studio

Know someone following the global game?

Forward them today’s Report. Five minutes each morning is enough to stay with the stories shaping pickleball around the world.

Join the World Pickleball Report