PPA Tour Finals update: McGuffin surges, Johns bros falter, weekend matchups set

Alex Lantz

Director, Written Content

Last Edited

Dec 07 2024

Men’s singles

Tyson McGuffin, who has yet to find the top spot on the podium in singles this season, is looking to do just that in one of the toughest tournaments of the year.

McGuffin went 3-0 in pool play with wins over Ben Johns (13-11, 11-9), Pablo Tellez (11-0, 11-1) and Connor Garnett (11-9, 13-11).

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When asked after Friday’s win over Garnett what’s been working for him this week, McGuffin said he recently took a couple weeks off to allow some nagging injuries to heal and feels “like a brand new man right now."

"I don't know what I'm doing right now, but I'm playing pretty freaking well,” McGuffin said. “... I feel like I'm playing loose, I'm trusting myself. There's a lot of passion there.”

After falling to McGuffin on Wednesday, Johns also lost to Garnett on Thursday, which eliminated him from the singles draw.

Saturday’s semifinal matchups:

Federico Staksrud vs. Connor Garnett

Tyson McGuffin vs. Hunter Johnson

Women’s singles

Anna Leigh Waters dominated her pool, as expected, with wins over Lacy Schneemann (11-2, 11-0), Parris Todd (11-0, 11-7) and Kate Fahey (12-10, 11-7).

But in the other women’s singles pool, Kaitlyn Christian emerged as a breakout performer, going 3-0 with wins over Catherine Parenteau (8-11, 12-10, 11-8), Jorja Johnson (11-6, 6-11, 11-1) and Mary Brascia (11-0, 11-2).

Brascia, who just barely qualified for the event as the No. 8-ranked women’s singles player, finished second in that pool and will play the weekend.

Saturday’s semifinal matchups:

Anna Leigh Waters vs. Mary Brasica

Kaitlyn Christian vs. Parris Todd

Men’s doubles

In the surprise of the tournament so far, the No. 1-ranked team of Ben and Collin Johns were knocked out of the event Friday night with an 11-5, 11-6 loss to JW Johnson and Gabe Tardio.

Johnson and Tardio, who are rumored to be playing together in 2025, were in command throughout the whole match, which was also a must-win for them in order to advance to the semifinals.

Also coming out of that pool were Christian Alshon and Dekel Bar, who are 3-0 over the first three days.

But they aren’t the only ones with a perfect record in men’s doubles, as McGuffin and Andrei Daescu also went 3-0 in their pool with impressive wins over Dylan Frazier and Pablo Tellez (11-5, 6-11, 11-3), Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin (6-11, 11-4, 11-6) and James Ignatowich and Matt Wright (11-0, 11-0).

Ignatowich struggled throughout the weekend, going 0-3 in men’s doubles and 0-3 in mixed doubles with Meghan Dizon.

Saturday’s semifinal matchups:

Christian Alshon/Dekel Bar vs. Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin

Tyson McGuffin/Andrei Daescu vs. JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio

Women’s doubles

After being upset Thursday by Jorja Johsnon and Lacy Scheemann, Waters and Parenteau were pushed to a third game Friday in a loser-leaves-town match against Tina Pisnik and Parris Todd, but prevailed 11-1, 7-11, 11-5 to secure their spot in Saturday’s semifinals.

Though Pisnik and Todd went 2-1 in their pool and played well for much of the week, they fell just short of making it to the weekend.

In the other pool, Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher went 3-0 with wins over Jessie Irvine and Mari Humberg (11-4, 11-5), Callie Smith and Lucy Kovalova (11-0, 11-8) and Tyra Black and Allyce Jones (11-0, 11-3).

If Waters/Parenteau and Bright/Rohrabacher make it through Saturday, it’ll set up a Championship Sunday matchup that in recent months has produced some of the best matches of the year.

Saturday’s semifinal matchups:

Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau vs. Jessie Irvine/Mari Humberg

Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher vs. Jorja Johnson/Lacy Schneemann

Mixed doubles

Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns took care of business in pool play, going 3-0 with wins over Rachel Rohrabacher and Federico Staksrud (11-9, 11-6), Meghan Dizon and James Ignatowich (11-5, 11-7) and Catherine Parenteau and Christian Alshon (8-11, 11-5, 11-6).

Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson also cruised in the other pool, going 3-0 with wins over Tina Pisnik and Dekel Bar (11-3, 11-6), Jessie Irvine and Riley Newman (11-2, 11-6) and Anna Bright and Gabe Tardio (11-8, 11-1).