Stakrsud will be busy on Championship Sunday

We’ve known all along about how impressive Federico Staksrud is.

And now at the PPA’s Indoor Championships, Staksrud is going next-level. What a pair of days for Staksrud, who is ascending from good to great to elite in a short amount of time. 

Staksrud, who has 18 medals on the PPA Tour, and will be playing for a singles gold for the fourth-consecutive tournament in 2024 Sunday against Connor Garnett, is now set to earn his first medal in mixed doubles, as he and partner Rachel Rohrabacher charged into the final after a show of quality wins.

Thursday, Staksrud won all four of his singles matches without losing a game. Friday, he and Rohrabacher needed three games against the seventh-seeded team of Tyra Black and Christian Alshon in the round of 16, then needed three games against the third-seeded team of Catherine Parenteau and Jack Sock in the semis, and then needed another three games against the eighth-seeded, upstart team of Hayden Patriquin and Lea Jansen.

Not a bad run for the 12th-seeded pairing of Staksrud and Rohrabacher, who will now face the top-seeded team of Thomas Wilson and Vivienne David, who had no issues, cruising to two-game wins in all four matches Friday.

Staksrud, who has long been considered a singles specialist, has become the game’s second-best player behind Ben Johns, but his 2024 run is definitely the most-accomplished of all players, including Johns, as Staksrud is the only one to make all four finals. He’s the top-seed in Minnesota.Johns is not in the field this week. 

Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, Staksrud and Pablo Tellez have established a level of consistency few others in the game have. The two exclusively play alongside each other, and the partnership has resulted in success. They medaled five times last year and made Championship Sunday in consecutive tournaments last summer. 

But Stakrsud hasn’t found the same consistency in mixed doubles, mainly due to the problem so many others have, too – finding a regular partner. With Rohrabacher, who impressed last year during Major League Pickleball, the two have a great combination of Stakrsud’s slow-grind-it-out style and Rohrabacher’s athletic ability and firepower.

Now, we’ll get to see if Staksrud will be the only player in the field to get to play for a triple crown on Sunday. He and Tellez head into the men’s bracket as the No. 2 seed. Matt Wright and Collin Johns are the top seed.