Johnson Steals the Show at Newport Beach
| July 11, 2023
There’s no one playing better in men’s pickleball right now than J.W. Johnson.
In a weekend filled with celebration and controversy, Johnson dominated the Newport Beach Shootout, winning his first gold medal of the season in mixed doubles and adding a second gold medal in men’s doubles.
Saturday, Johnson paired up with his sister Jorja, saying it was special to finally win one alongside his younger sibling. Sunday, he won gold with his best friend Dylan Frazier, and guess what Johnson said about that?
“We love playing together, training, and traveling together. It makes it special.”
And there’s something special about this guy’s game. He improved to 25-5 this season in men’s doubles and is now 20-6 in mixed doubles. He’s played in every event of the 2023 season and he’s played with Jorja in each mixed doubles tourney and Frazier in each men’s draw.
That makes two firsts and four third-place finishes this season with Frazier and Johnson now has a first, second, and third with Jorja.
Sunday, Johnson and Frazier beat Matt Wright and Riley Newman, winning the match in three games – 12-10, 11-8, 12-10. Wright and Newman and Ben Johns and Collin Johns are the only teams who have defeated Johnson and Frazier this season.
“Lots of new players, the competition is getting tougher, but we’re going to do our best to stay on top.”
Callie Smith and Lucy Kovalova are back on top, too. The pair earned the women’s title with a match that went nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes. Kovalova and Smith beat Anna Bright and Andrea Koop, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-3.
It’s the 21st gold medal win for Kovalova on the PPA Tour.
“It’s awesome, but I’ve competed much longer than everyone else,” Kovalova said. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, I’m just lucky to have Callie by my side.”
Saturday during the day, the Johnsons were the talk of the tour as they were on the biggest stage PPA has to offer, playing in the mixed doubles final against Tyson McGuffin and Lacy Schneemann in a match that aired nationally on CBS. The Johnsons were in complete control of the match and won easily, 11-9. 11-7.
Saturday evening’s events were dominated by paddle talk. Sarah Ansboury’s Gamma paddle was found to be non-compliant, forcing her and partner Jillian Braverman to forfeit their match and putting Schneemann and partner Lina Padegimaite into the semifinals. All PPA players are subjected to mandatory paddle testing before the quarterfinals and finals.
There was no Ben Johns in the men’s final or in the mixed doubles final. Johns, the No. 1 player in the world, lost for the first time this season alongside his brother Collin in a second-round match. And Johns and Koop fell in the quarterfinals as well, meaning it was the first time this season Johns didn’t medal in any event. There was no Anna Leigh Waters in Newport Beach either, as she’s out this month for wisdom teeth extraction. She’ll be back on the court in May in North Carolina alongside Jack Sock.
Those absences left an opportunity open and Johnson made it his. Just the seventh seed in the mixed draw and the fourth seed in the men’s draw, Johnson was easily the best player of the tournament. He and Frazier didn’t lose a single game in five matches. He and his sister Jorja lost just one game in five matches.
