In what has become a yearly tradition, there are several new partnerships making their debut at the PPA Tour Masters this week in Palm Springs, California.

We expect to see most teams stick together for at least the first quarter of the season, so I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take a look at the new teams and how I think they will do compared to expectations.

First, let's get some housekeeping out of the way.

After experimenting with a few different scheduling formats over the past couple years, the PPA Tour has now shifted to a progressive draw for all of its tournaments in 2026, regardless of whether it is an Open, Cup or Slam. That means pro qualifying will be played on Mondays and main draw matches will start on Tuesdays, with one round in every division to be played each day through Championship Sunday.

The Masters is a Slam, so it is worth 2,000 ranking points for the winners in each division. That also means that all of the top players are playing this week, so it will be one of the hardest tournaments all year to win.

All eyes will be on Anna Leigh Waters, who will be making her debut as part of Team Franklin after announcing last week that she signed a long-term paddle deal with the brand. Fans will also be eying Waters' apparel, as she has been rumored to be in discussions with Nike about an apparel and shoe contract. No deal had been announced as of Monday, though.

New 2026 partners -- buy or sell?

MEN'S DOUBLES

Federico Staksrud/Andrei Daescu: Sell

They are the No. 2 seed and we have both players in the top 6 in our current men's doubles power rankings, but hear me out ... Daescu turns 38 this year. In most pro sports he would be nearing retirement. He's in great shape and he works incredibly hard to keep it that way, but the game is trending younger and faster by the day. If you asked me if I thought Daescu would have a better or worse year in 2026 than he did in 2025 (when he won four gold medals in men's doubles and led the Columbus Sliders to the MLP title), I think I would say worse. I'm interested to see how he and Staksrud gel together, though, as Staksrud moved to the right side toward the end of 2025 and won gold at the Pickleball World Championships soon after. I think this can be a really good team that makes the semifinals regularly, but I think others have a higher ceiling.

Hayden Patriquin/Christian Alshon: Buy

I think there's a decent chance that 2026 is the year Patriquin becomes the best men's player in the world. We saw flashes of that potential toward the end of last season, as he and Anna Bright played Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters very close in a couple mixed matches late in the year. And he moved to the left side in men's doubles, which seems to be a better fit because it allows him to be more creative and dictate the pace of the game. I assume Patriquin will play the left with Alshon, but I could see them switching it up at times if needed. I also think they can be flexible in terms of how they play. If their best chance is to play fast and be aggressive, both players are plenty capable of that, and if they need to slow it down and grind out a dink fest, I think they can do that too.

Riley Newman/Will MacKinnon: Buy

Newman switched to a new Paddletek paddle (releasing to the public soon, I'm told) and saw immediate success late in 2025. He made the men's doubles final in Daytona in December with Noe Khlif, beating Daescu/Gabe Tardio in the quarterfinals and CJ Klinger/Jaume Martinez Vich in the semifinals. MacKinnon, 16, has gotten a lot of buzz in pro circles and is getting better quickly. If this pair sticks together, I think they can surprise some people this year.

Dekel Bar/Jay Devilliers: Sell

Devilliers had a very sold second half of 2025, but Bar did not -- some of that was due to an injury/illness that he dealt with for most of the summer. But even after he returned to the court in the fall, he only made it past the Round of 16 once in his last four events of 2025 in men's doubles. Which is a shame, because he was playing some of the best pickleball of his career in the spring last year. I'll need to see some signs that he's back to that version of Dekel Bar before I consider this team a serious threat.

Augie Ge/Connor Garnett: Sell

Ge won his first PPA Tour gold medal in the last event of 2025 in Daytona, but that was playing alongside JW Johnson, his Dallas Flash teammate. I'll root for this team because I like watching both players, but it's hard to see them getting past the quarterfinals, and even that is no guarantee. 

Will Howells/Noe Khlif: Hold

This one is tricky because it's hard to define what success would be. Are they supposed to be contending for gold medals? If that's the bar, I'm selling. But could I see them getting to the semifinals a couple times over the next few events, but that most likely would come at a smaller tournament where not all the best players show up. This week if they make the Round of 16 they will face JW Johnson/CJ Klinger. That's a tough ask.

MIXED DOUBLES

Gabe Tardio/Catherine Parenteau: Buy

This is the most high-profile mixed doubles team making its debut this week, and I'm interested to see how it goes. I think Tardio is underrated as a mixed player, and this is his first shot getting to play with a Top 5 women's player. If seeding holds and they make the quarterfinals, they would play Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin. I think that could be a close match, and I expect Tardio/Parenteau to be in the mix with the other top 4-5 seeds in the early part of the year.

Jay Devilliers/Jessie Irvine: Sell

This partnership is a throwback to 2022-23, when these two played together regularly. Devilliers had his best mixed doubles result of the season in the last event of 2025 -- a bronze with Callie Smith at the Daytona Beach Open -- but before that he had only made it past the Round of 16 twice last season. Both players are fan favorites, but it's hard to envision them making deep runs regularly given the depth of this division.

Federico Staksrud/Kate Fahey: Sell

They have played together twice before, but it's been over a year, so I'm calling this a new-ish pairing. In 2024 they made the Round of 16 in one event and the quarterfinals in their other event, but that was when Fahey was still relatively new on the scene. She medaled twice (both with Dylan Frazier) in 2025, but in most events didn't make it past the Round of 16. I think these two can make the quarterfinals regularly, but going further than that will be a challenge.

Eric Oncins/Meghan Dizon: Buy

Dizon did not have the best results with Jaume Martinez Vich toward the end of 2025, but I've heard that she recently switched to the Proton Peacock 13mm Square paddle, which I believe is one of the best paddles out there right now. So I think she can have better results to start this season, and I think Oncins has shown good improvement in mixed lately -- he was consistently getting to the quarterfinals or beyond toward the end of last year, and earned his first PPA mixed doubles medal (a bronze) with Anna Bright at the Lakeland Open in November.

Will Howells/Rachel Rohrabacher: Buy

We know that Will Howells has had success in mixed doubles playing with Anna Leigh Waters in Major League Pickleball -- but can he be a serious threat when he's not playing with the No. 1 women's player? We're going to find out over the next several weeks. I don't necessarily think they can compete for golds right away, but I think they can be in the mix come Friday afternoon. If they make the quarterfinals, they could face off against No. 4 Christian Alshon/Tyra Black. That match could tell us a lot about where Howells fits in the PPA landscape. 

Andrei Daescu/Lacy Schneemann: Sell

I'm not sure if this is a long-term partnership or a one-off event, but either way I'm selling. Schneemann did not make it past the Round of 16 in any PPA event last year outside of a gold medal at the Australia Pickleball Open (which only a handful of U.S.-based pros competed in). Those results are partially due to the fact that she was playing with lower-ranked partners than Daescu, but even so, mixed has never been Daescu's strongest event. I think they will struggle to get past any of the teams seeded ahead of them.

Noe Khlif/Tina Pisnik: Buy

Both of these players were somewhat regulars in the quarterfinals playing with other partners in 2025, and they are two of the most consistent players on tour in terms of their playing style. So I think the floor is really high, and I think they can pull off some upsets here and there. If seeding holds, they would face Daescu/Schneemann in the Round of 16 and if they win that they could play JW Johnson/Jorja Johnson in the quarterfinals. The Johnsons are always a tough out, but I could see them getting to that point.

WOMEN'S DOUBLES

There aren't many new partnerships on the women's side, so I expect to see the same teams continue to compete for medals. Waters and Bright are the clear favorites, but Rohrabacher/Parenteau, Black/Johnson and the Kawamotos are all serious contenders.

MEN'S & WOMEN'S SINGLES DRAWS