Anna Bright reveals which pro players have impressed her the most in 2026

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Last Edited

Apr 22 2026

Jay Devilliers

Devilliers has made multiple quarterfinals in both men's doubles and mixed doubles this year, including a bronze medal with Jaume Martinez Vich at the Texas Open.

"Jay brings a lot to the court you just can’t teach - power, size, and EFFORT," Bright said. "... He brings 100% every time he steps on the court. ... He has every shot (he has added a 2-handed backhand, something Tyson and other legacy players have yet to figure out!), and I am never happy to see Jay on the other side of the net."

In our latest power rankings, we moved Devilliers up No. 12 on the men's side (he was previously No. 14).

Devilliers' success this season has also coincided with an equipment change. He's been using the Six Zero Coral for the past several months.

Wyatt Stone

Stone has been around the pro scene for a few years, so people tend to forget that he's still a very young player. He has multiple quarterfinal appearances in men's doubles, and bright specifically shouted out that Stone has raised his level of consistency this year.

"I’ve actually been impressed with his level for a while, and I do think that the timeline for people who started playing as kids is just fundamentally a bit different," Bright said. "I haven’t played Wyatt in mixed this year, but in rec I have a very difficult time reading him."

Meghan Dizon

Dizon has been a Top 10-15 player on the women's side for multiple years, and she has continued to post good results so far this year. She has finished 4th in her past two events and also has a bronze with Lacy Schneemann earlier this year at the Indoor National Championships in Minnesota.

"I have long been impressed by Meghan’s game and enjoyed watching her and how she hits the ball," Bright said. "Her forehand is so snappy."

Tina Pisnik

Pisnik has four bronze medals in women's doubles with three different partners this year (Cailyn Campbell, Jessie Irvine and Lacy Schneemann). She also has a silver (with Eric Oncins) and a bronze (with Noe Khlif) in mixed doubles.

"Tina’s decision making, anticipation, consistency and competitive fire allow her to not only compete, but WIN against people far younger than her," Bright said. "I wish we got to see what Tina looked like in her athletic prime -- I’m often impressed with her ability to jump for overheads and am sure that she was a physical specimen before her career-ending tennis injury. Tina’s forehand hold and misdirect might be the best in the female game."

Parris Todd

Todd's results in 2026 have been extremely impressive. In women’s doubles, she has a gold (with Rachel Rohrabacher) and four silvers with four different partners (Kate Fahey, Alix Truong, Rohrabacher and Tyra Black), and she also has three bronze medals in mixed (all with Andrei Daescu).

"She has really expanded her game," Bright said. "Her and Rachel both used to predominantly play the right but have been finding a consistently high level and a high level of creativity on the left side."

Todd made the biggest jump in our latest power rankings on the women's side, moving from No. 7 at the end of last year to No. 3.

Lacy Schneemann

She already has more women’s doubles medals in 2026 than she did in all of 2025 (two bronze with Tina Pisnik and one with Meghan Dizon). She also made a quarterfinal run in mixed with Jack Sock at the Mesa Cup, taking down JW/Jorja Johnson in the process.

"Lacy has had a heck of a year," Bright said. "She did a lot of this while predominantly playing the right (new for her). ... Her skillset remains unique, and when the floor is flooring, which it seems to have been, she is always a tough out."

Lea Jansen

She's been having a bit of a resurgence this year, with impressive wins over Kate Fahey, Kaitlyn Christian and Brooke Buckner in women's singles. She has two silvers and three bronze medals on the year.

"Despite not being the best ball striker in a game that is only getting progressively more defined by ball striking ability, she continues to find ways to win and has been more clutch in the last few events than I’ve ever seen from her, WHILE dealing with a chronic condition (diabetes)," Bright said. "All hail Queen Lea."

We moved Jansen up to No. 4 in our latest power ranking of the Top 20 women's singles players.

Her success this year has also coincided with an equipment change -- she's now using the JOOLA Agassi Pro V 14mm.

Other players Bright shouted out for their play so far in 2026: Rachel Rohrabacher, Mari Humberg, Milan Rane, Chris Haworth, John Lucian Goins.

Anna Bright's weekly newsletter -- Brighter Pickleball -- covers pro tournaments, Bright's take on relevant news and the occasional tip to help you up your game. Subscribe to the Brighter Pickleball newsletter here and find more Anna Bright content on her YouTube page.

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