Opinion: Ben Johns might be better off with Andrei Daescu moving forward

Alex Lantz

Director of Content

Last Edited

Mar 17 2025

The past 4 tournaments for Ben Johns in mens doubles:

Tucson Open: Bronze with Hayden Patriquin – Andrei Daescu and Christian Alshon beat them 11-6, 10-12, 11-5 in the semifinals. Johns and Patriquin then won bronze handily over Rafa Hewett and Noe Khlif.

Mesa Cup: Silver with Gabe Tardio – Daescu and Alshon beat them 11-5, 11-1, 10-12, 5-11, 11-7 in the final. Find the recap here.

Cape Coral Open: Gold with Daescu – they beat Alshon and Federico Staksrud 11-2, 11-7, 11-1 in the final. Find the recap here.

Texas Open: Gold with Tardio – they beat Alshon and Staksrud 11-1, 10-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 in the final.

Given those results and how the partnerships have looked on the court, I would rank those three players – in terms of how they pair with Johns – like so: 1) Daescu; 2) Tardio; 3) Patriquin.

Looking beyond those three, Alshon is certainly making a case as a top 3 player on the men's side and he plays the right side very well, but he and Johns clearly don't get along -- although that didn't stop Matt Wright and Riley Newman from partnering together and having success in 2023.

And I'd put Collin at No. 5 on that list of potential partners -- I wouldn't be surprised if we see them make a comeback on the PPA Tour toward the end of the season. They will also still be Major League Pickleball teammates on the Carolina Pickleball Club this year, so it will be interesting to see how they play together after a break of several months.

While Johns seemingly made the decision to split with Collin because he felt like he needed more offense from the right side (which is why he picked Patriquin and Tardio to start out with), he appeared to play his best with Daescu, who – like Collin – is a more grindy and consistent type of player.

The on-court vibes were not good with Collin in the second half of 2024, and I would argue that apparent tension had more to do with the Johns brothers’ results falling off than their actual play styles. With Daescu, Johns got a similar type of player as Collin on the right side, but he appeared more mentally engaged and like he was actually enjoying himself on the court.

Read next: In-depth review of the Proton Series Three - Project Flamingo (Daescu's current paddle of choice)

In a very close semifinal at the Cape Coral Open against JW Johnson and CJ Klinger, Johns showed a level of grit that we frankly did not see much last year when he was playing with his brother. I think that’s a credit to Daescu, who is as competitive and mentally tough as they come and kept Johns locked in late in that match. They ultimately came back after dropping Game 1 to win 8-11, 12-10, 11-9.

On multiple occasions in 2024, the Johns brothers wilted when faced with adversity, whether that came in the form of net cords not going their way, the ball not bouncing perfectly or an opponent simply playing above their normal level.

That didn’t happen when Ben was paired with Daescu and it led to an easy win in the final over Alshon and Staksrud. The result leads me to believe Johns didn’t actually need a different style of player, he just needed a different style of person -- somebody to keep him motivated and focused on the task at hand. Daescu is perfect for that.

Read next: In-depth review of the JOOLA Perseus Pro IV (Johns' current paddle of choice)

That said, Johns also showed more mental toughness this weekend at the Texas Open alongside Tardio. In what was again a candidate for match of the week, they beat Daescu and Dylan Frazier 11-3, 12-14, 12-10 in the semifinals Saturday evening in windy conditions that required intense focus and a positive attitude.

Johns is signed up to play with Tardio for the next three PPA tournaments and has said they plan on playing together for much of 2025, while Daescu is signed up to play with Alshon in the next tournament (the Red Rock Open in Utah on March 25-30), then Matt Wright in two tournaments after that.

Johns and Tardio certainly have room to improve as a partnership with Tardio's athleticism and rising confidence level, but ultimately I think Daescu is better at this point – even playing on the right, which is not his preferred side.

Their results on the PPA Tour so far this season back me up on that.

They each have played six tournaments that count toward the 2025 season standings (the Daytona Beach Open was technically the first event of the season despite being held in late December). Their results:

Daescu: 4 golds (1 with Klinger, 2 with Alshon and 1 with Johns), 1 bronze (with Alshon).

Tardio: 2 golds (with Tyson McGuffin in a weak field at the Australian Open and Ben Johns this weekend), 2 silver (with Johns and JW Johnson).

Add in Daescu’s intangibles – a veteran player with elite mental toughness who plays a style we’ve seen Johns have dominant success with – and I think Johns/Daescu is a better combo than Johns/Tardio.

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