PPA SAN CLEMENTE PREVIEW

The 12th tournament of the PPA season gets underway Thursday and will be the final tournament before we turn the page to the second half of the year. This may very well be the most important tournament of the year for several players so let’s dive into the top storylines heading into San Clemente.

1. THE CALIFORNIA SWING

The players head to California for two straight weeks as the 3rd and final event of Major League Pickleball follows the PPA’s San Clemente tournament. This will be four tournaments in five weekends for the regular participants on the PPA tour and after a grueling week in the Texas heat this will be just as much of a mental test as a physical one. With the stakes being as high as they are for the final MLP event we’ll have to wait and see if the top players decide to compete in a back draw that is already declining in participation. I wouldn’t be surprised to see most players decide to rest their bodies and their minds so they are as fresh as they can possibly be for the team event where money, future draft stock, and the right to be crowned champion will all be on the line. 

2. PARTNERSHIP CAROUSEL

Several players are using this event as a tune up for MLP and are therefore competing with their team partners but we also have some new partnerships that will be fun to follow as the event progresses. Here are my top new partnerships to watch this week.

1. Federico Staksrud/Etta Wright: Both of these players are coming off successful weekends at the Texas Open so they should be in the mix to make a run at a quarterfinal or deeper.

2. Anna Bright/Megan Fudge: Hard not to talk about Anna Bright when discussing women’s doubles. She has made a semifinal with 5 different women’s doubles partners this year and a deep run with Megan Fudge will make it #6.

3. Jay Devilliers/Tyler Loong: This will be the most athletic team in the draw and Loong is coming off an impressive semifinal run with AJ Koller in Texas. Outside of the top 3 this is one of the teams to watch in men’s doubles

4. Lea Jansen/Hurricane Tyra Black: Jansen’s doubles game doesn’t get nearly enough credit as she has been the only player to consistently put up close scores against Anna Leigh and Tyra Black is a name on the rise. This team possesses a lot of firepower so look out if they can get rolling.

3. THE LAST CHANCE TO SHOWCASE

This will be the last PPA tournament before the Major League Pickleball season 2 draft. The draft will take place on Wednesday July 12th while the next PPA event is scheduled to happen in Denver on Thursday July 13th so this is the last chance for fringe players to showcase their skills to owner’s and GMs (assuming most of them are not participating in the APP Newport Beach Open in late June/early July). Keep your eyes out for names like Christine Trufonivic,  Genie Erokhina and Collin Shick (playing w/ Steve Deakin) as a good showing could go a long way.