Picklr Utah Open Championship Sunday Preview, from the Stats Desk 

===== MEN’S SINGLES =====

#1 FEDERICO STAKSRUD:

• Has earned a medal in every tournament this year except Kansas City. (5 gold, 8 silver, and one bronze)
• Beat Yates and Hunter Johnson in back-to-back matches.
• Beat Garnett in the final at the Indoor Championships in March, 11-2 in the third.
• 0-5 against Ben Johns in title matches this year… 5-3 against everyone else.
• His nine career men’s singles titles are second only to Ben Johns.
• His nine career titles have come in finals against nine different players. This is his first opportunity to beat the same player twice in the finals.

#2 CONNOR GARNETT:

• Won the Los Angeles Open in April, vs Federico Staksrud, 11-4 in the third.
• Won his second career title in Kansas City, against Tyson McGuffin. Authored a rare “golden pickle” in Game One of that match.
• #3 ranked player on Tour. 

Bronze: 

#27 Hunter Johnson:  

• Has a silver and a bronze from the fall of 2022.
• Notable: Beat two champions, Dylan Frazier and Chris Haworth, to get here.

#14 Rafa Hewett: 

• Won a silver medal at the Atlanta Open in 2022, losing to Federico Staksrud- that was Fed’s first PPA title.
• Beat #3 seed and six-time PPA champion Tyson McGuffin in the Round of 16.

===== WOMEN’S SINGLES =====

#4 KAITLYN CHRISTIAN: 

• Has two silvers (Bristol and Austin) and three bronzes this year.
• Lost to Brooke Buckner in the final in Bristol. She was up in Game Three 6-4 at the changeover, lost that game 11-7. That silver was her first PPA medal.
• Needed three games to beat Chao Yi Wang in the semis.
• Ranked number seven on Tour.

#14 KATE FAHEY: 

• Beat number three seed Salome Devidze in the Round of 16.
• Lost to Brooke Buckner in the final in Kansas City. She was up in Game Three 6-5 at the changeover, lost that game 11-8. That silver was her first PPA medal.
• Was the #31 seed last week, now #14.

Bronze: 

#6 Judit Castillo: 

• Won a bronze in Orange County in June.
• Won two bronzes in 2023, in Orange County and Denver.

#11 Chao Yi Wang:

• Beat number two seed Mary Brascia in the quarterfinals.
• Lost to Kaitlyn Christian 11-7 in the third game of the semifinals.
• Won her first PPA medal last week in Bristol, a bronze.

===== MIXED DOUBLES =====

#1 ANNA BRIGHT and JAMES IGNATOWICH 

• They have five silver medals this year, including a stretch of three of four PPA events.
• Are 0-8 in finals since winning the Red Rock Open in April 2023. (0-7 vs Waters/Johns, 0-1 vs Etta Wright/Johns)

#6 JESSIE IRVINE and GABE TARDIO: 

• Beat the #2 seeds, Jorja and JW Johnson in the quarterfinals, 11-6, 11-8.
• Irvine’s first Mixed final in two days short of a year, at Kansas City with Riley Newman.
• Irvine’s three Mixed Doubles titles are from 2021 and 2022.
• Tardio’s first Mixed Doubles medal, and first Mixed Doubles final.
• Tardio won a Men’s Doubles title just two weeks ago in Kansas City with Fed Staksrud.

Bronze: 

#22 Mari Humberg/Pablo Tellez: 

• Beat three higher seeds, including number four Tina Pisnik and Dekel Bar.
• Humberg has two Women’s Doubles bronze medals this year, most recently two weeks ago in Kansas City.
• Trying to earn her first Mixed Doubles medal.
• Tellez has a Men’s Doubles silver and bronze across the last three tournaments.
• Tellez is trying for his first Mixed Doubles medal.

#23 Mary Brascia/Jaume Martinez Vich: 

• Beat three higher seeds, including number three Vivienne David and Yates Johnson.
• Brascia has a Singles title this year, now she’s trying to earn her first Mixed Doubles medal.
• Martinez Vich won a bronze last week with Jackie Kawamoto.
• Martinez Vich has two silvers and a bronze in Men’s Doubles this year.

===== MEN’S DOUBLES =====

#3 JAMES IGNATOWICH and MATT WRIGHT:

• Won a bronze together at the PPA Finals last December. That was Ignatowich’s last Men’s Doubles medal.
• Wright has a gold (Austin) and two silvers this year.
• Wright has 20 total PPA gold medals, third all-time among men behind the Johns brothers.
• Wright and Ben Johns are the only two players to win at least one title every year since 2020. (Kovalova, Newman and McGuffin are eligible for that feat)

#8 ANDREI DAESCU and GABE TARDIO:

• Survived a wild semifinal, needing four match points and defending one to win 13-11 in the third game against Hayden Patriquin and Pablo Tellez.
• This team won silvers at the Red Rock Open and at Mesa.
• Beat the Johns brothers twice this year (Mesa Round of 16 and Red Rock Semis)
• Daescu won a gold with Matt Wright at the Austin Open.
• Tardio won the Kansas City Open with Federico Staksrud.

Bronze: 

#6 Augie Ge/Federico Staksrud: 

• Beat the number two seeds, Dekel Bar and Collin Johns, in the quarterfinals.
• Ge broke through at the North Carolina Cup, winning a silver with Jaume Martinez Vich.
• Staksrud won two of the last four tournaments, playing with Gabe Tardio and Hayden Patriquin.

#5 Hayden Patriquin/Pablo Tellez:

• Had a match point in the semifinal, but lost the third game 13-11 to Andrei Daescu and Gabe Tardio.
• This team won a silver at the Orange County Cup in June.
• Patriquin has gold-silver-bronze in three of the last four tournaments.
• Tellez split up with partner Federico Staksrud after earning a silver in Houston in April. 

===== WOMEN’S DOUBLES =====

#1 ANNA BRIGHT and RACHEL ROHRABACHER:

• They have three silvers this year, including last week at Bristol.
• They won four titles together during a five-tournament run in March and April. 
• Beat Parenteau and Waters in four games for the Austin Open title in March, that team’s only loss.

#9 MARI HUMBERG and JORJA JOHNSON:

• Beat the number two seed, Meghan Dizon and Etta Wright, in the semis. 
• Humberg is in the bronze medal match in Mixed Doubles.
• They beat two higher seeds along the way, including the third seeds and Utah combo of Allyce Jone and Callie Smith.
• Humberg and Johnson have two bronze medals this year, most recently two weeks ago in Kansas City, and also at Mesa in February.
• Johnson has been in a final before; Humberg has not.

Bronze: 

#2 Meghan Dizon/Etta Wright:

• They have two silvers and three bronzes this year.
• 2023 Red Rock Open champions.
• Dizon lives 12 miles from here, Wright 30.

#4 Jackie Kawamoto/Lucy Kovalova:

• Convincing win over the Brascia sisters in the quarterfinals, 11-4, 11-2.
• Kawamoto won a Mixed Doubles bronze medal with Christian Alshon at the Houston Open this year.
• Kawamoto won a silver at the Houston Open with Vivienne David.
• Kovalova has two silver medals this year. Her last title was at Newport Beach in April 2023. (All of those with Callie Smith)
• Kovalova has 21 Women’s Doubles gold medals, third all-time behind Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau.
• Kovalova is a trailblazer: She won the first-ever PPA Women’s Doubles tournament on record, the Mesa Grand Slam in February of 2020, playing with Simone Jardim.
• Kovalova needs a title of any type this year to join Matt Wright and Ben Johns as the only two players to win at least one title every year since 2020. (Riley Newman and Tyson McGuffin are also eligible for that feat)