STORYLINES FOR THE BLACK DESERT RESORT RED ROCK OPEN

OVERALL TOP 5: 

• REFORMATTED: New format features Semi-Finals Saturday and Championship Sunday for all disciplines. 
• FEELING FOXY: National coverage on FOX from 4:30-6:30 pm Eastern on Championship Sunday.
• ATTITUDE IN THE ALTITUDE: 2,800+ feet above sea level could give an advantage to the Utah-based players. 
• SPRING BREAK: Several stars are out of the country or not playing, including Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Tyson McGuffin, and Kate Fahey. 
• OPEN BOOK: 1,000 Carvana PPA Tour points for the winners. 

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• Little Valley Sports Complex in St. George hosts again this year. 
• New Open format: singles Wednesday, mixed doubles Thursday, men’s and women’s doubles Friday, Semi-Finals Saturday, and then Championship Sunday. 
• Over 900 players participating in the event. 
• PickleballTV (and the app) will have all of the coverage leading up to the national Fox Sunday broadcast. 

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending Medalists: Mary Brascia, Lea Jansen, Kaitlyn Christian
• Anna Leigh Waters (1) is undefeated in singles in 2025. 
• Catherine Parenteau returns to singles as the (5) seed – could face Parris Todd (4) in the quarters. 
• Genie Bouchard (8) has not been able to build on her early season success – could face Jansen (3) in the quarters. 
• Watch out for: Kaitlyn Christian (2) – can she find peak form and return to Sunday?

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending Medalists: Federico Staksrud, Jack Sock, Christian Alshon
• Christian Alshon (6) looks to win 3 in a row.
• How is Hunter Johnson’s (2) ankle? He had to scratch mid-match in bronze in Texas.
• Can Sock (7) make a run back to Sunday in Utah?
• Watch out for: Zane Ford (14) – beat Ben Johns in McKinney, TX – can he build on that?

MIXED DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Etta Tuionetoa/Ben Johns, Anna Bright/James Ignatowich, Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson
• Anna Leigh Waters not in this draw – just playing singles and women’s doubles. 
• Tuionetoa/Staksrud (3) look to make a big run, playing back-to-back tourneys together. 
• R.Newman/L. Jansen (7) – lost a heartbreaker 14-12 in the 3^rd to the Johnsons last week in the quarters, including having 3 match points on their paddles. 
• Watch out for: JW/Jorja Johnson (1) – have made consecutive finals (with a win in Mesa) when playing together – ran into a buzzsaw in Waters/Johns in the McKinney final. 

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Tina Pisnik/Lea Jansen, Anna Bright/Callie Smith, Allyce Jones/Tyra Black
• Waters/Parenteau (1) missed the semifinals for the first time ever in McKinney – they will be on a mission in Utah. 
• Parris Todd was brilliant winning gold in McKinney, she pairs with Rohrabacher as the 2 seed. 
• Tyra Black was brilliant winning gold in McKinney, she pairs with Jorja Johnson as the 3 seed. 
• Watch out for: Etta Tuionetoa/Allyce Jones (4) – Utah-based players have historically played very well at this event. 

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson, Andrei Daescu/Gabe Tardio, Tyson McGuffin/Dekel Bar
• Patriquin/Staksrud are back together as the top seed,
• Fun new partnerships alert: Wright/Martinez Vich (5) and Newman/Ge (7)
• Watch out for: Daescu/Alshon (2) look to pick up where they left off, won the last two events they entered together (Tucson and Mesa).