Players to watch at the Vulcan TOC

The Vulcan Tournament of Champions in Brigham City, Utah is happening this week on the PPA, and here are a few players and storylines to keep an eye on.

Before we dive in, quick reminder that the TOC’s retains its historic schedule of Wednesday-Saturday instead of the PPA Tour’s traditional Thursday-Sunday play.

Riley Newman

Is this the tournament Newman finally goes gold?

Ever since announcing his split with long-time and successful doubles partner Matt Wright, Newman has yet to get to the medal stand in men’s doubles. 

And yes, it hasn’t been that long, obviously, as the break-up happened in June, but Newman has been a prolific winner on tour and to not see him on the podium for any medal is a bit odd. How odd? The last time Newman went three-consecutive tournaments without getting a medal was February-March, 2021.

Newman will be playing alongside AJ Koller in a field that doesn’t have the Johns brothers or Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson playing together. The Johns brothers are skipping the tournament and Frazier, who has won the past two PPA golds in men’s doubles alongside Johnson, is playing with Andrei Daescu. 

Black to Black and Golden Gabe

Anna Leigh Waters won’t be in Utah for the TOC, but Tyra Black will, and we’ll get to see her go for two singles titles in a row. She beat Waters last time out in the quarterfinals of the Takeya Showcase.

This time she’ll be in a field that includes Catherine Parenteau as the No. 1 seed. Parenteau is returning from some time off over the summer. Meanwhile, Yana Newell, who Black beat in the final at Takeya, will be at TOC, as will Judit Castillo, Irina Tereschenko, Salome Devidze, and Lauren Stratman, the majority of whom have medaled in the past several tournaments.

In the men’s singles draw, Gabriel Joseph upset a host of top seeds and was the underdog winner last time out to take his first ever PPA title. He’s back in the field, and it will be interesting to see how he performs coming off of a massive win. Even without Johns in the field, it’s loaded. Federico Staksrud, Tyson McGuffin, Jay Devilliers, Christian Alshon, and many others will be there.

Mixed Bag

It’s been since April that Waters hasn’t won a mixed doubles title. In that span, she’s won once with Jack Sock and six times with Ben Johns.

But she’s not going to be in Utah, so who will it be who takes gold? How about James Ignatowich and Anna Bright? The two were golden at the Red Rock Open back in April. They’re a logical pick for a number of reasons, including the fact that both have gotten used to success on Center Court. Bright has won seven times this year alongside Waters and Ignatowich has won two silvers and two bronzes alongside Bright.

Tune into all the action this week for the historical Vulcan Tournament of Champions! See our TV guide for broadcasting information.