Houston Championship Sunday Preview, from the Stats Desk
| April 14, 2024
- Ben Johns is looking for his 120th gold, 40th doubles gold and 45th mixed doubles gold.
- Collin Johns is looking for his 30th gold (all in men’s doubles).
- Ben Johns’ 21st career PPA Triple Crown last week in North Carolina was his first in 2024. He had nine last year.
=== MEN’S SINGLES ===
#10 QUANG DUONG will leave Houston with his first PPA medal. The 18-year-old did not lose a game while beating top-seed Ben Johns and sixth-seed Jaume Martinez Vich to reach the final.
#2 FEDERICO STAKSRUD is seven-for-seven in reaching the finals this year. He has two gold medals, against Connor Garnett and Jaume Martinez Vich. His six career titles are second only to Ben Johns.
Bronze: #6 Jaume Martinez Vich vs #35 Donald Young (he beat #8 Jay Devilliers and #3 Connor Garnett)
=== WOMEN’S SINGLES ===
#19 SAMANTHA PARKER has earned her first PPA medal this weekend. On Thursday she beat top-seed Mary Brascia and four-seed Lacy Schneemann.
#2 LEA JANSEN is in her first PPA final since the Seattle Open last July. She dropped only one game during four wins on Thursday. Jansen has two bronze medals this year. Her two career gold medals were in the summer of 2021.
Bronze: #4 Lacy Schneemann vs #6 Parris Todd.
=== MIXED DOUBLES ===
#11 TINA PISNIK and DEKEL BAR are in back-to-back finals after earned a silver medal in North Carolina. Each of their four wins Friday went to three games. Bar is looking for his first gold medal of any type since 2021; Pisnik is looking for her first PPA gold medal. Pisnik is a two-time Olympian, competing in tennis for Slovakia.
#2 ETTA WRIGHT and BEN JOHNS showed good chemistry, losing only one game in their four matches Friday. Wright has a gold medal in women’s doubles, but none yet in mixed. Johns it trying to become the first player to win mixed doubles golds with four different partners. (He has won with Anna Leigh Waters, Simone Jardim, and Jessie Irvine.) He has won more golds in mixed (44) than he has in men’s doubles (39) or singles (36).
Bronze: #4 Jessie Irvine/Pablo Tellez vs #12 Jackie Kawamoto/Christian Alshon.
=== MEN’S DOUBLES ===
#1 BEN JOHNS and COLLIN JOHNS did not give up more than eight points in any of their eight games Saturday. They are looking for their 30th title together, and fourth this year.
#3 FEDERICO STAKSRUD and PABLO TELLEZ have seven medals together since the start of 2023, but no golds yet. They haven’t played the Johns brothers in the final since Denver last summer.
Bronze: #5 Dekel Bar/Thomas Wilson vs #7 Christian Alshon/Tyler Loong.
=== WOMEN’S DOUBLES ===
#1 ANNA BRIGHT and RACHEL ROHRABACHER gave up only 23 points in eight games Saturday. They won two golds last month, in Minnesota and Austin. Bright’s ten career gold medals in women’s doubles is fifth-most all-time.
#4 VIVIENNE DAVID and JACKIE KAWAMOTO: Between women’s and mixed doubles, David has medaled at every tournament this year. David has a women’s doubles gold medal from 2022, while Jackie K. is looking for her first to go along with her four career silver medals. This team won a silver together last summer in Seattle (losing to Bright/Waters).
Bronze: #8 Lea Jansen/Tina Pisnik vs. #2 Lucy Kovalova/Callie Jo Smith.
