Second Half Starts Now! 

The second half of the PPA season starts this week at the Denver Open.

From there, the PPA will make five more stops by the end of August in places like Seattle, Kansas City, Utah, and California. 

Ready to go?

Here are a few storylines to look out for as the players head back to the court:

Can anyone beat ALW?

Right now, the answer is pretty simple. Nope. Anna Leigh Waters is the most dominant player in the game – men’s or women’s – and it doesn’t appear anything will change any time soon.

Waters is 112-2 this season, a record so absurd it seems made up. She’s lost once in singles this year. She’s lost once in mixed doubles this year. Read more on Waters here. The last time we saw Waters, back in June in San Clemente, Calif., she just finished putting a bow on her fourth-consecutive triple crown and her 16th triple crown for her career. 

Waters is definitely No. 1, but there are some challengers in both singles and women’s doubles. 

Lea Jansen has had a remarkable 2023, despite not being able to beat Waters. Jansen has 13 medals this season and has medaled in every singles event of the season she’s entered. She also had a match point against Waters in June at the Texas Open and has six silver singles medals and a pair of bronze finishes.

There’s also Catherine Parenteau. Other than Waters, Parenteau has been the second-most prolific player on the women’s side. She has 20 medals this season so far. 

Waters is on the court in Denver playing alongside Ben Johns in mixed doubles, with Anna Bright in women’s doubles and of course in the singles field as well. Jansen is in all three events this weekend, playing with Travis Rettenmaier and Lucy Kovalova.

What’s next for Riley?

Riley Newman is one of the most-decorated players on tour, but he’s going to be going for gold in the men’s field with a different partner for the first time in about two years. 

Newman and Matt Wright have been the second-best team in pickleball for that same span. This season alone, the two paired for 10 medals – a gold, seven silvers, and two third-place finishes. They have won 23 medals together in 18 months and 25 since the start of 2022. Read more about the end of their great partnership here. 

Newman isn’t in the field for the Denver Open, but Wright is. Wright will be playing alongside Dylan Frazier. He’ll also take the court with Lucy Kovalova in the mixed doubles bracket.

Newman has also won a mixed doubles medal with five partners this season – Allyce Jones, Parris Todd, Jessie Irvine, Anna Bright, and Lindsey Newman. 

We’ll see if Newman can continue that dominance in the second half of 2023 on the men’s side.

First time’s the charm

With the booming popularity of pickleball, more and more players are getting going and getting going in a hurry.

Everyone knows about Johns, Newman, Riley, Jansen and the regular winners on tour, but who’s the next big name?

Already this season, eight players on the men’s side and three players on the women’s side have medaled for the first time. James Ignatowich has exploded on the scene. He medaled for the first time this year and also has two golds – one in singles and once in mixed doubles.

Meghan Dizon, Etta Wright, and Jorja Johnson also have earned first-time gold medals this season as well.

Other names on the radar to get on the podium this year? 

How about Callan Dawson on the men’s side? Dawson has never earned a gold medal on the PPA tour and hasn’t medaled at all in 2023. Brendon Long, Collin Shick, Connor Garnett and Jake Kusmider have all medaled this year in singles, but any of them could be set for a breakthrough in doubles play.

Hayden Patriquin has been impressive, too. After a great showing at the Major League Pickleball finale in San Clemente, Calif., Patriquin appears to be playing his best. Patriquin has never medaled. He’ll be playing alongside Dawson in Denver. 

On the women’s side, a name that keeps coming up is Hurricane Tyra Black. A superstar in the making? She’ll be playing alongside Christian Alshon and Jillian Braverman this week in Denver. 

Other women to watch are Mary Brascia, who has one silver in singles this year, and Lacy Schneemann. Schneemann has a women’s silver, a mixed doubles silver, and a women’s bronze medal this year. Also, Judit Castillo, a first-time medalist this season, is another name that fans are expecting big things from.

Let’s see what the second half of the 2023 season holds!