Pickleball World Championships semifinal preview

Alex Lantz

Director of Content

Last Edited

Nov 07 2025

Men's doubles

No. 1 Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio vs. No. 3 Hayden Patriquin/Federico Staksrud: Johns and Tardio are on a heater at the moment, with six straight titles together. They dropped Game 1 on Friday against Jay Devilliers and Riley Newman (who have also been playing well lately), but came back to win Game 2 and rolled in Game 3. They'll face a Patriquin/Staksrud duo that has been playing with Patriquin on the left lately, with good results. Both men's semifinal matches should be entertaining.

No. 2 Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu vs. No. 4 JW Johnson/CJ Klinger: Johnson and Klinger were nearly eliminated in the Round of 16 by No. 19 seed Roscoe Bellamy/Wyatt Stone, but pulled through in Game 3 11-9, then dominated No. 7 seed Dylan Frazier/Noe Khlif in the quarterfinals on Friday. Alshon and Daescu have rolled through the draw without dropping a game, but will face a team that has beaten them in the past -- when these two teams last met at the Orange County Cup in June, Johnson/Klinger won 11-3, 11-5.

Women's doubles

No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright vs. No. 3 Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson: Waters/Bright are riding a two-tournament winning streak and have won five titles together since teaming up in the spring, but the last time they played Black/Johnson -- at the Walgreens Open in Las Vegas in late August -- Black/Johnson won 5-11, 11-6, 11-3.

No. 2 Catherine Parenteau/Parris Todd vs. No. 4 Jade Kawamoto/Rachel Rohrabacher: Parenteau/Todd haven't dropped a game all tournament and have looked very solid. Kawamoto/Rohrabacher were pushed to three games against Lacy Schneemann/Meghan Dizon on Friday, but prevailed 4-11, 11-5, 11-3.

Mixed doubles

No. 1 Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters vs. No. 3 Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin: This is a rematch of the semifinals at the Las Vegas Cup two weeks ago, which Johns/Waters won 6-11, 11-5, 11-4. Patriquin at times looked like the best player on the court and controlled that match for long stretches, but couldn't sustain the high level he displayed in Game 1.

No. 2 JW Johnson/Jorja Johnson vs. No. 4 Tyra Black/Christian Alshon: Somewhat surprisingly, these two teams have never met in competition. The Johnson siblings have medaled in 11 tournaments this year, including three gold medals.

Men's singles

No. 1 Hunter Johnson vs. No. 13 Christopher Haworth: There might be a big seeding difference on paper, but this has the potential to be one of the best matches of the tournament. They've met twice since Haworth signed with the PPA over the summer, with Johnson taking both matches in two games. But Haworth is coming off of two recent wins at the Virginia Beach Cup and the LT Open in Atlanta, while Johnson hasn't won gold in singles since the Orange County Cup in June.

No. 2 Federico Staksrud vs. No. 4 Connor Garnett: They've played twice this season, with Staksrud taking both matches. Staksrud is also coming off of a gold medal at the Las Vegas Cup two weeks ago, and seems to be playing some of his best singles pickleball of the year. Both players were pushed to three games in the quarterfinals, with Staksrud beating Jaume Martinez Vich (8-11, 11-5, 11-7) and Garnett beating Jay Devilliers (4-11, 11-4, 11-2).

Women's singles

No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters vs. No. 3 Kaitlyn Christian: Waters has won 17 straight women's singles gold medals, dating back to the middle of 2024. She also has won this event the past two years. Christian has played Waters twice this season, and neither meeting has been particularly close, with Waters winning in two games both times.

No. 2 Kate Fahey vs. No. 6 Brooke Buckner: These two have also met twice this season, with Fahey winning both matches handily.

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