Breaking down the PPA Tour Atlanta Pickleball Championships quarterfinal matchups
Last Edited
May 15 2025
Category
News
The PPA Tour Atlanta Pickleball Championships have given us big upsets, epic matches and a spirited debate about the state of pro singles. And we've only made it through Thursday.
The best matches of the week are likely still to come at the tour's second Slam of the season, which offers 2,000 ranking points to the winner. So let's take a closer look at Friday's quarterfinal matchups (and maybe peek ahead to the weekend).
Women's doubles quarterfinal matchups
No. 1 Catherine Parenteau/Rachel Rohrabacher vs. No. 6 Jessie Irvine/Lacy Schneemann
No. 4 Jorja Johnson/Jade Kawamoto vs. No. 9 Kate Fahey/Tina Pisnik
No. 2 Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright v. No. 10 Etta Tuionetoa/Vivienne David
No. 3 Tyra Black/Parris Todd v. No. 12 Chao Yi Wang/Brooke Buckner
Conventional wisdom would say that Parenteau/Rohrabacher and Waters/Bright are on a collision course for a Championship Sunday matchup. I'm not totally convinced that's the case, although both teams have looked great so far. Parenteau/Rohrabacher are outscoring their opponents 44-10 this week, while Waters/Bright won their first match 11-1, 11-0 and then didn't have to play Thursday because Layne Sleeth and Andrea Koop withdrew.
It seems likely that all of the top women's doubles seeds will win their matches on Friday, which will set up two very good (on paper) semifinal matches on Saturday. I have Johnson/Kawamoto and Bright/Waters making the final.
Men's doubles quarterfinal matchups
No. 1 Hayden Patriquin/Federico Staksrud vs. No. 5 JW Johnson/CJ Klinger
No. 4 Dylan Frazier/Dekel Bar vs. No. 6 James Ignatowich/Collin Johns
No. 2 Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio vs. No. 8 Matt Wright/Riley Newman
No. 3 Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu vs. No. 12 Augie Ge/Jay Devilliers
The biggest storyline so far in men's doubles has been the resurgence of several guys who haven't had the best year (or years in some cases). Ignatowich and Collin Johns have played well so far, but Friday's match against Frazier/Bar will be a much bigger challenge. Wright and Newman are hoping to channel their 2022/2023 magic, and it will be interesting to see them match up against familiar foe Ben Johns.
Devilliers is also having a strong week, making the quarters in men's doubles and men's singles (he and Callie Smith lost their Round of 16 mixed match). Devilliers recently switched to the JOOLA Perseus Pro IV (find our review here and buy it here) and seems to have upped his game since making the switch. He also seems to be healthy after battling injuries in 2024. He and Ge will have a very tough matchup on Friday, however.
But the match I have circled on Friday is Patriquin/Staksrud vs. Johnson/Klinger. Johnson and Klinger have played several tournaments together but haven't yet knocked off one of the top teams. Is this the week they can break through?
And if Johns/Tardio and Alshon/Daescu can both get through Friday, they will meet in a much anticipated semifinal match on Saturday.
Mixed doubles quarterfinal matchups
No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns vs. No. 5 Anna Bright/Quang Duong
No. 13 Jade Kawamoto/Dylan Frazier v. No. 9 Tina Pisnik/Andrei Daescu
No. 2 Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson v. No. 8 Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio
No. 4 Etta Tuionetoa/Christian Alshon v. No. 7 Rachel Rohrabacher/Dekel Bar
The top two seeds have looked very solid so far this week. Johns/Waters blasted Lindsey Newman/Riley Newman 11-0, 11-0 in the Round of 16 on Friday, while the Johnson siblings have also cruised through their three matches so far. Those two teams meeting on Sunday seems like a safe bet.
The best match of the day on Thursday came in mixed, as Bright/Duong needed bonus pickleball to get past Hayden Patriquin/Kate Fahey. The match lasted nearly 2 hours and featured some great hands battles and tons of momentum swings. Bright/Duong ultimately got the win 16-14, 5-11, 12-10.
Men's singles quarterfinal matchups
No. 65 Alexander Crum vs. No. 8 Dylan Frazier
No. 3 Connor Garnett vs. No. 35 Jay Devilliers
No. 2 Hunter Johnson vs. No. 6 Quang Duong
No. 4 Ben Johns v. No. 7 Christian Alshon
Men's singles was chaotic the first couple days with some big upsets, notably Alexander Crum's win over No. 1 Federico Staksrud on Tuesday. That led to a now-infamous post on X from Staksrud and some hot takes about the state of pro singles, but in the end a bunch of the top players have made it to Friday.
Crum has certainly gained some fans this week and based on how he has played so far, his match on Friday against Dylan Frazier seems winnable.
The bottom half of the bracket is a murderer's row, and whoever comes out of that gauntlet will have earned their place in Championship Sunday.
Women's singles quarterfinal matchups
No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters vs. No. 5 Brooke Buckner
No. 4 Parris Todd v. No. 19 Liz Truluck
No. 2 Kate Fahey v. No. 6 Lea Jansen
No. 3 Kaitlyn Christian v. No. 7 Catherine Parenteau
As many could have predicted, it's been all chalk so far in women's singles, except for Liz Truluck's upset over 8-seed Salome Devidze.
Waters is 24-0 this season and has only dropped one game in 2025, but guess who was the only player to push her to a Game 3 this season? That's right: Brooke Buckner, who came painfully close to beating Waters at the Mesa Cup. Will we see another close match between those two on Friday?
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