The PPA Tour is back in action this week at one of the most recognized venues on tour.

Held in San Clemente, California, this week's Orange County Cup is among the biggest events on the PPA Tour schedule, offering 1,500 points to the winner in each division. The tournament is hosted at the Life Time Rancho San Clemente, which provides a scenic backdrop and is a popular venue among pro and amateur players alike.

And it looks like the weather couldn't be better, with sunny skies and temps in the low 70s expected nearly every day of the tournament. The event started Monday with pro qualifying. Main Draw matches will begin Tuesday.

Looking to catch the action in person? Buy tickets here.

Through the first 10 tournaments -- halfway through the PPA Tour schedule -- men's doubles and men's singles have been defined by unprecedented parity compared to prior years.

In men's doubles, JW Johnson and CJ Klinger got their first title together at the PPA Tour Atlanta Pickleball Championships last month, vaulting them into the mix of 3-4 teams who could threaten to win gold at any given tournament.

Three active men's doubles teams have now won at least one gold medal in 2025: Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon (x3), Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio (x2) and Johnson/Klinger (x1). Meanwhile, Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin have five silver medals and one bronze medal this year and are also among the top teams on a given week.

It's a similar story in men's singles, as 5 players have won titles this season and 4 of those players have won multiple times. They are: Staksrud (1x), Tardio (2x), Hunter Johnson (2x), Ben Johns (2x), Alshon (2x).

In the women's and mixed divisions, Anna Leigh Waters remains firmly at the top. She snapped what for her was a fairly long triple crown drought (3 tournaments) in Atlanta, winning easily in each division. In women's doubles specifically, Waters and new(ish) partner Anna Bright looked dominant. Can any of the other women's doubles teams mount a serious challenge as we head into the second half of the season? More below on who those challengers might be.

PPA Tour Orange County Cup draws

Men's doubles

Note: Dekel Bar has withdrawn from the tournament because of an illness. He was set to be the No. 5 seed in men’s doubles with Dylan Frazier and the No. 7 seed in mixed doubles with Rachel Rohrabacher. Lucky losers from Monday’s qualifying rounds will fill those now-empty spots in the main draw. Riley Newman will also miss this event, and Quang Duong (suspension) won't be playing either.

The favorites

Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon (No. 3)
JW Johnson/CJ Klinger (No. 4)
Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio (No. 1)

The challengers

Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin (No. 2)
Collin Johns/James Ignatowich (No. 6)
Pablo Tellez/Jaume Martinez Vich (No. 7)
Tyson McGuffin/Noe Khlif (No. 8)

Under the radar, but wouldn't want to play them

DJ Young/Eric Oncins (No. 18)
Hunter Johnson/Augie Ge (No. 10)
Pat Smith/Julian Arnold (No. 13)

Picks

Semifinals

Daescu/Alshon def. Johns/Tardio
Johnson/Klinger def. Staksrud/Patriquin

Finals

Daescu/Alshon def. Johnson/Klinger

The last time we saw Christian Alshon, he played uncharacteristically poorly at MLP Daytona Beach. As we've seen over the past year+, Alshon is a player who cares deeply about winning and works extremely hard. There's no better motivation in sports than getting your ass kicked, as he experienced multiple times in Daytona. I'm going to assume he used the week off between then and now to get back in the lab and refocus mentally, and I think we'll see a much sharper version of Alshon this week on the other side of the country. Daescu also seems to bring out the best in him, and in my opinion they are still the best men's doubles team going, even though they haven't won since the Red Rock Open in March.

It's worth noting, though, that Johnson and Klinger have seen steady improvement since teaming up earlier this year, culminating in their first title together in Atlanta. Johnson in particular has upped his level since switching to the Franklin C45 Dynasty paddle, which was released to the public last week (you can find our review of the whole C45 series here, and buy it here). I still think Daescu and Alshon are slightly better, but I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson and Klinger got their second title in a row.

Women's doubles

The favorites

Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright (No. 1)

The challengers

Catherine Parenteau/Rachel Rohrabacher (No. 2)
Tyra Black/Parris Todd (No. 3)
Lacy Schneemann/Jorja Johnson (No. 4)
Jackie Kawamoto/Etta Tuionetoa (No. 6)
Tina Pisnik/Kate Fahey (No. 7)

Under the radar, but wouldn't want to play them

Magie Brascia/Mary Brascia (No. 12)
Andrea Koop/Alix Truong (No. 14)

Picks

Semifinals

Waters/Bright def. Johnson/Schneemann
Black/Todd def. Parenteau/Rohrabacher

Finals

Waters/Bright def. Black/Todd

Black and Todd have a title together this year (at the Texas Open in March, when they beat Waters and Parenteau) and are both having great seasons, but I think Waters and Bright are on a different level than the rest of the field right now. They made easy work of their former parters in Atlanta, beating Parenteau and Rohrabacher in three games in the much-anticipated women's doubles final, 11-4, 11-7, 11-3. I'm penciling in Waters and Bright as the women's doubles champs in every event for the rest of the season until somebody proves they can hang.

Mixed doubles

The favorites

Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns (No. 1)

The challengers

Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson (No. 2)
Etta Tuionetoa/Christian Alshon (No. 3)
Catherine Parenteau/Federico Staksrud (No. 4)
Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin (No. 5)
Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio (No. 6)
Tyra Black/James Ignatowich (No. 8)

Under the radar, but wouldn't want to play them

Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu (No. 10)
Jackie Kawamoto/Jack Sock (No. 16)
Alix Truong/Max Freeman (No. 25)
Lea Jansen/Eric Oncins (No. 13)
Jade Kawamoto/Roscoe Bellamy (No. 26)

Picks

Semifinals

Waters/Johns def. Bright/Patriquin
Johnson/Johnson def. Alshon/Tuionetoa

Finals

Johnson/Johnson def. Waters/Johns

The last time the Johnson siblings faced the Waters/Johns duo, they beat them in a thrilling final, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8 at the PPA Tour North Carolina Open in April. Jorja Johnson also beat Waters in women's doubles in that event, so I think there's a chance that she has figured out how to get an edge in that matchup. They didn't play each other in women's doubles or mixed doubles in Atlanta, so if we get this matchup, it'll be the first time they play each other on the PPA Tour in more than 2 months.

Men's singles

The favorites

Federico Staksrud (No. 1)
Ben Johns (No. 4)
Hunter Johnson (No. 2)
Connor Garnett (No. 4)

The challengers

Christian Alshon (No. 8)
Jaume Martinez Vich (No. 5)
Zane Ford (No. 10)
Tyson McGuffin (No. 6)
Jack Sock (No. 9)

Under the radar, but wouldn't want to play them

JW Johnson (No. 11)
Noe Khlif (No. 13)
Donald Young (No. 22)
Max Freeman (No. 32)

Picks

Semifinals

Johns def. Staksrud
Hunter Johnson def. Garnett

Finals

Johnson def. Johns

Men's singles continues to be a complete free-for-all. Staksrud is the No. 1 seed, but hasn't won a singles title since The Masters in January. Johns showed he can still be a top singles player when he wants to be with a win in Atlanta. He defeated Hunter Johnson in the semifinals of that event and then beat Garnett in a close final, but I think Johnson turns the tables this time around and becomes the season leader with his third gold medal.

Women's singles

The favorites

Anna Leigh Waters (No. 1)

The challengers

Kate Fahey (No. 2)
Kaitlyn Christian (No. 3)
Parris Todd (No. 4)
Brooke Buckner (No. 5)

Under the radar, but wouldn't want to play them

Mary Brascia (No. 9)
Catherine Parenteau (No. 7)

Picks

Semifinals

Waters def. Christian
Buckner def. Fahey

Finals

Waters def. Buckner

Waters vs. Buckner gave us the most exciting women's singles match of the season so far at the PPA Tour Mesa Cup in February, when Buckner took Game 1 and built a big lead in Game 2 before Waters stormed back to take the title there. I think we'll get a rematch in San Clemente, but see the same result in the end.