We’re now several months into 2026, so The Kitchen staff put our heads together — with the help of an anonymous pro — to come up with a current list of the Top 20 men’s singles players who compete on the PPA Tour.

Because men’s singles is widely considered the deepest division top to bottom, we set some general guidelines to help us make some very tough decisions:

– Ranking is based early 2026 results + input from our pro player consultant on who they would least like to see on their side of the draw in a tournament.

– Medals mean more than points. This is where our list differs from the official PPA Tour points standings. If Player A consistently makes “good” runs but rarely gets past the quarterfinals, while Player B is less consistent but has better “peak” weeks, we give the edge to Player B.

– A win in a “Slam” carries more weight than a win in a “Cup” or “Open” event, similar to other individual sports like golf or tennis.

Our ranking of the top 20 women’s singles players — which we made with the help of a women’s pro — can be found here.

Looking for our doubles rankings?

The Kitchen’s Top 20 men’s doubles players – November 2025
The Kitchen’s Top 20 women’s doubles players – November 2025

The Kitchen’s Top 20 men’s singles players – April 2026

📈 1. Chris Haworth (previously No. 2) – He has more gold medals than anybody else this year (3) and they have all come in the biggest events – the Greater Zion Cup, the Mesa Cup and the Masters. Get his paddle. 

📉 2. Federico Staksrud (previously No. 1) – It’s very close between No. 2 and No. 3 on this list. Staksrud has 2 golds, 2 silvers and is 1-1 vs. the next player on our list. Get his paddle.

3. Hunter Johnson – He has the most recent head-to-head win over Staksrud, but is one behind on the medal count – he has 2 golds and 1 silver.

4. Christian Alshon – Alshon is a tier below the top 3, but consistently in the mix deep in the draw. He has three bronze medals this year. Get his paddle.

📈 5. Roscoe Bellamy (previously No. 9) – Bellamy has been on the rise for the past several months, and has two bronze medals so far in 2026. Get his paddle.

📈 6. John Lucian Goins (previously No. 7) – He’s coming off of his best two tournaments so far in 2026 – a bronze at the Greater Zion Cup and a 4th place finish at the Texas Open. Get his paddle. 

📈 7. Jack Sock (previously No. 8) – He got off to a great start to the year with a silver at the Masters, but a hamstring injury set him back a little bit. It will be interesting to see if he can get back to contending for medals over the next few tournaments. Get his paddle.

📈 8. Gabriel Joseph (previously No. 10) – He’s been a little bit up and down in 2026, with three quarterfinal appearances (good), but two Round of 32 losses (not good). Get his paddle.

📈 9. Noe Khlif (previously No. 13) – He’s coming off of his best finish of the year – a 4th at the Greater Zion Cup – and also has two other quarterfinal runs in 2026. Get his paddle.

📈 10. Dylan Frazier (previously No. 12) – Like Joseph, he has some clunkers – two losses in the Round of 32 and one loss in the Round of 64 – but he also makes deep runs fairly regularly, including a bronze at the PPA Asia MB Hanoi Cup in Vietnam last month (that tournament featured several top U.S. based players and some very talented locals) 

11. Ben Johns

📈 12. Zane Ford (previously No. 13)

📉 13. Connor Garnett

📉 14. Jaume Martinez Vich (previously No. 6)

📈 15. Jay Devilliers (previously No. 20)

16. Adam Harvey

📈 17. Mohaned Alhouni (previously unranked)

📈 18. Cason Campbell (previously unranked)

📈 19. Yates Johnson (previously unranked)

📈 20. Tama Shimabukuro (previously unranked)

Notably absent: Michael Loyd (previously No. 15), Gabe Tardio (previously No. 17), Tyson McGuffin (previously No. 18), Marshall Brown (previously No. 19), Luc Pham, Armaan Bhatia, Connor Mogle, Matthew Barlow, George Rangelov, Eric Oncins, Tom Protzek, Rafa Lenhard.