Ranking the Top 10 women's doubles duos in Major League Pickleball

Zoey Weil

Contributor

Last Edited

May 20 2026

Top 10 women's doubles duos in MLP

1. New Jersey Fives: Anna Leigh Waters/Jorja Johnson

This team broke the internet. After the St. Louis Shock spent over $1 million to select Anna Bright with the first pick of the 2026 draft, the Fives dropped a measly $800K to snag Jorja. This gives Anna Leigh Waters her best MLP partner to date, pairing her with arguably the third best women’s player in the world (even if she hasn’t been at her peak recently). Jorja’s lightning fast hands will do well paired with ALW’s ambitious speed ups and fast pace of play. The only thing that I see getting in the way of this team's success would be an adjustment period for Jorja. Being on her own without her brother and mom might be difficult. And playing on a team that has been a bitter rival for her and the Flash the past several seasons might feel weird at first. ALW and Jorja last played together in Daytona Beach in December, where they won gold. Watch out everybody, this team is incredibly dangerous.

2. St. Louis Shock: Anna Bright/Kate Fahey

The St. Louis Shock’s women’s doubles team is composed of two of the most competitive people on tour (or possibly in the world). These ladies want to win. Fahey and Bright will be in their third season playing together and they are hungry for a title. The energy that this team brings to every match epitomizes what MLP is really about. Yes, some players prefer to be more tame on court and don’t buy-in to the rowdy nature of MLP. That is certainly not true of Bright and Fahey. They take full advantage of the raucous environment that is cultivated by MLP, and I’m all for it. The amount of heart and energy they put into every match is truly impressive, plus they have to make sure Gabe and Hayden didn’t forget their paddle or shoes. I expect this team to be ALW and Jorja’s fiercest competition this year.

3. Los Angeles Mad Drops: Catherine Parenteau/Jade Kawamoto

Everyone knows what they are going to get with Catherine and Jade, yet there’s little anyone can do to stop it. They are consistent high level performers who mind their own business. This team just finished fourth at the PPA Tour Finals and have opted to team up at PPA events throughout the year, when Jade is available and playing. CP has shown to prefer the left-side after her break up with ALW and possesses a wide variety of offense from that side, both out of the air and off the bounce. The LA Mad Drops have a huge wild card in Ben Johns (that’s weird to say). Even if Ben is having a sad boy season (like he has in past MLP seasons), I expect CP and Jade to put him in a 1-0 position very frequently.

4. Brooklyn Pickleball Team: Rachel Rohrabacher/Jackie Kawamoto

Jackie Kawamoto and Rachel Rohrabacher are a sneaky good team. Weird to say that a women’s doubles team composed of two top ten ladies would be “underrated.” But the Brooklyn Pickleball Team has lacked some of the sparkle and publicity that has been given to teams like the Shock, Fives, or Flash. I think their biggest headline was when they swapped team names with another franchise (seriously, wtf was that?!). Rohrabacher has been looking incredibly dangerous, especially in the past couple of months. She has a gold medal from PPA Sacramento and a silver from the Tour Finals, and she should be really proud of the way she has been playing. One thing that could throw RR off her hot streak is that Jackie and her usual partner, Parris Todd, have extremely different play styles. This will leave a lot of the offensive load to fall on Rachel, who is more than capable of handling it.

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5. Palm Beach Royals: Tina Pisnik/Sofia Sewing

When Sofia Sewing isn’t making bad calls at the U.S. Open, she’s playing on the APP Tour. Most people assumed she got the “Will Howells Deal” where she signed with the PPA for the following year and was allowed to play MLP while competing on the APP Tour. But shortly after she signed her deal with the PPA and was selected as the cornerstone of the Palm Beach Royals, the APP also announced that they had signed Sewing to a multi-year deal. Now I’m no mathematician but it sounds like Sofia has one more commitment than she can handle. Hopefully everything will get sorted out with Sewing and the PPA. I’m excited about this team. Tina Pisnik just keeps winning. It doesn’t seem to matter who her partner is, she always delivers results. She and Lacy Schneeman just knocked out the second-best team in the world in Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black in an impressive showing at the PPA Finals. I expect this team to mesh quickly and get results.

5. Columbus Sliders: Paris Todd/Dani-Elle Townsend or Alix Truong

I’m unsure exactly what Columbus’ vision is holding three high-level women on their roster. Parris Todd will be absent from the first event in Dallas as penance for her Japan trip last year. Maybe the Sliders picked up Truong as a contingency to make sure that they don't dig themselves a hole in the first event. That being said, Dani-Elle Townsend is largely unknown and seemed like a surprising pick at No. 3 in the draft, especially after the Sliders won a title with Lea Jansen last season (Jansen was still available at the time). Townsend possesses a high-level of offense and seems like a complete player, but hasn’t been tested against the top-tier players in the U.S. She and partner, Sahra Dennehy, were beaten soundly by Parenteau and Rohrabacher in Atlanta. She prefers the left side, as does Parris. So it will be interesting to see where these ladies settle and if Townsend could be content on the right side. Truong could also step in if things aren’t clicking between Todd and Townsend. Parris and Alix have a silver medal together this year and have proven that they can hang with the big dogs.

6. Chicago Slice: Mari Humberg/Jamie Wei

The Chicago Slice went full rebuild mode, and they did a pretty good job. They bid below six figures to pick up both Humberg and Wei in what seemed like a hangover from the Jorja Johnson/Anna Bright bidding frenzy. They elected to take Wei over Mari’s former MLP teammate Megan Dizon, who was still available. I thought this was interesting. Both of these ladies prefer the left. But I’m squashing the rumors here and now that Mari can ONLY play the left. She can, and will, play the right side if needed. She can also hit a two-handed backhand when she needs to. So versatile. Jamie Wei really came into her own playing with Allyce Jones in the first half of the year (ironically, after Allyce split from Mari). She has continued to get better and has impressive results. This team possesses a really high-level of offense. If they are playing well in one game to 11 I think they can beat anyone. This team will have a lot of fun together on court and I expect it will show in their results.

7. Dallas Flash: Tyra Black/Brooke Buckner

The Dallas Flash seemed to freeze after losing out on Jorja Johnson. They held their bid until the 19th pick and luckily Callie Smith was still available. In the end they ended up trading Smith for Brooke Buckner, which could be an ever so slight upgrade for the Flash. Buckner has been a consistent winner in MLP, albeit at the Challenger Level. But winners win. This gives Brooke an opportunity to play with a higher level partner than she is used to. I am confident she will rise to the challenge. Expect to see Tyra almost exclusively on the left beside consistent and smart play from Buckner on the right.

8. Orlando Squeeze: Lacy Schneeman/Milan Rane

This team meshed pretty well together at the end of last season once the Squeeze traded Parker for Rane. I expect this team to play straight up since Lacy has recently turned into a top three right side princess. Milly brings steadiness on both sides which will give Lacy the freedom to play free whether she’s on the right or left. She has elite offensive capabilities from both sides and has done a phenomenal job limiting soft errors. Her consistency in the first half of the season has been impressive. Seems like she heard the criticisms about having a low floor and raised it. This team should beat everyone they are “supposed to” and could pull off a couple upsets.

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9. Utah Black Diamonds: Allyce Jones/Etta Tuionetoa

Allyce and Etta had success last year in MLP once Etta was acquired from the Ranchers. Neither of these ladies are super offensive minded, but have great defense and high pickleball IQs. Tuionetoa has been playing fewer tournaments lately but looked sharp when I watched her play in Atlanta. With some shortage of offense it might be hard for this team to pull off too many upsets. But I certainly wouldn’t try to out-grind them.

10. Atlanta Bouncers: Kaitlyn Christian/Jessie Irvine

Two veterans teaming up for the first time. Neither of these ladies have been particularly successful or interested in the MLP format. But the reality is, both of them are quite good at pickleball. Time will tell how these two will mesh on court. Jessie seems to like to play a “big right side” but Christian has good length from the left. If they are able to find some chemistry I expect they will be a difficult out, even for the top teams.

Zoey Weil is a pro pickleball player who plays on the PPA Tour and for Major League Pickleball's Florida Smash. She currently holds Top 40 rankings in all three divisions -- women's doubles, women's singles and mixed doubles -- on the PPA Tour. Follow her on Instagram (zoey_weil) or on X (zoeyweil66).

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