The Report
Alshon and Waters: 46 games won, none lost
Good morning, pickleballers. The favourites have mostly held at Worlds. The most interesting collision is between two players who have not lost a game.
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Noe Khlif at the 2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships in Farmers Branch, Texas. Photo: PPA Tour.
The Lead · Worlds
Alshon and Waters cannot both keep this going
Christian Alshon has won 24 games from 24 at Worlds. Anna Leigh Waters has won 22 from 22. Both remain in all three events, and they meet on opposite sides of Saturday’s mixed doubles semi-final: Ben Johns and Waters against Rachel Rohrabacher and Alshon. Something has to give.
Top-four seeds occupy 16 of the 20 semi-final places. Women’s singles and mixed doubles have delivered their top four. Men’s singles is the exception, not the explanation.
John Lucian Goins beat Christopher Haworth 11–5, 11–5 and faces Alshon. Jack Sock meets Hunter Johnson, unbeaten in eight singles games with 32 points conceded. Sock has the story. Johnson has a persuasive reply.
Read the full Worlds story →Challenger · Contracts at stake
Grigoriu wins six. Burkhardt keeps three doors open
Madalina Grigoriu won all six of her Friday matches across women’s and mixed doubles at the Challenger Showdown. With Allie Reichert she topped her women’s pool; with Garrison Eaby she topped her mixed pool. Matt Burkhardt, meanwhile, is the only player through to Saturday in three events.
Eight 2027 PPA Tour contracts are on offer. Nicholas Wade and Marisa Ruiz won twice in mixed pool play, including victory over the pool winners, and still missed out on points difference. Saturday decides the contracts.
Europe · Open doubles
Two tight games, then a very different comeback
Maximilian Wild and Mackonner Dy beat Ben Cawston and Louis Laville 12–10, 11–9 for the European Open men’s 18+ doubles title. Two games, four points between the pairs.
Megan Fudge and Jada Bui won women’s gold 4–11, 11–6, 11–1. Across the three earlier 50+ Open finals, the champions conceded six points combined. Saturday’s 18+ mixed brings new partnerships.
Nationals · San Diego
Stewart and Oshiro have three chances each
Katerina Stewart and Bobbi Oshiro reached the USA Pickleball Nationals semi-finals in singles, mixed and women’s doubles together. They could yet oppose each other for singles gold, but first Stewart faces Seone Mendez and Oshiro faces Domenika Turkovic. A possible final is not a booking.
The women’s singles top four all advanced. The men’s doubles semi-final seeds are 1, 13, 14 and 15. Top seeds Jack Munro and Richard Livornese Jr. bring seven consecutive APP men’s doubles golds together into that contest. Nationals has its own competitive argument; it does not need to borrow one from Texas.
Culture · Celebrity Showdown
Wahlberg wins. Piven had more doubles points
Team Wahlberg beat Team Piven 15–13 in Thursday’s Celebrity Showdown DreamBreaker after the four doubles games finished two apiece. Piven’s side had scored more doubles points, 34–32. The decider, rather than the aggregate, settled it.
MUNICIPAL had a shoe to preview and a Dallas Flash apparel partnership beginning in 2027 to promote. Enjoy the show. Keep the rankings out of it.
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