Talking Takeya

It was an interesting weekend on the PPA Tour. We had new winners in singles, plenty of drama, and learned plenty.

Here are three takeaways from Takeya:

Tyra Time

Tyra Black has had a lot of hype surrounding her since she started playing pickleball and during the past month, she’s started living up to it. 

What a week for her at Fountain View, Calif. Not only did she beat Anna Leigh Waters in the singles quarterfinal – a first loss for Waters since March – Black went on to win her first gold medal with a singles victory against Yana Newell, 11-13, 11-8, 11-3.

In addition, Black got to the podium in women’s doubles, earning a bronze alongside Allyce Jones.

Gold for Gabe

It was quite a run for Gabriel Joseph in front of his friends and family at Takeya. He was sensational.

Despite being a regular at PPA events, Joseph hadn’t been on the medal stand since 2020 when he earned a silver against Ben Johns.

But Thursday he started his run as the No. 24 seed with a win against the ninth seed Pablo Tellez, then a win against the No. 8 seed Connor Garnett. Johns lost in the second round, so that meant Joseph got No. 16 seed Yates Johnson, who he went on to beat, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7.

In the semifinals, Joseph lost the first game to No. 4 seed Tyson McGuffin, 11-2, but then rallied to win the next two, 11-5, 11-4.

That win put Gabriel into the final where he beat second-seeded Federico Staksrud, 11-6, 12-10.

That’s a lot of wins against some serious firepower that makes a resounding statement.

“To be in the same conversation as them is humbling,” Joseph said about beating some of the game’s top players. “This win isn’t for me. It’s for all you guys. Friends and family. This is for them.”

A return to calmer Waters

After Waters lost on Thursday in singles and after all the fallout on social media, Waters returned to doing what she does best.

Winning. And you know it couldn’t have been that easy after losing for the first time since spring. 

Waters made a Twitter post, her mother Leigh posted on Instagram, and the return to the court seemed to be a comfort for the game’s best female player.

She and partner Anna Bright ripped through the bracket and won their third tournament in a row and seventh of the season. They have not lost together all year, this time beating Callie Smith and Lucy Kovalova, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6. 

And in mixed doubles, it was more of the same. She and Ben Johns dominated again, winning for the sixth time in a row, this time a three-game victory over Jorja and J.W. Johnson, 11-6. 11-4, 11-8.