STORYLINES FOR THE CARVANA MESA CUP PRESENTED BY PROTON

OVERALL TOP 5: 

• PERFECT ATTENDANCE: All of the top players, female and male, will be in action in Mesa. 
• GRAB A SLICE OF GOLD WITH GABE?: Ben Johns did not win gold with Patriquin, what happens with pizza-loving Tardio?
• SINGULARLY FOCUSED: Anna Leigh Waters, Ben Johns, and Catherine Parenteau are all back in the singles draws. 
• HEATING UP: Desert temps in the 80s will heat up the action and slow down the ball. 
• MY CUP RUNNETH OVER: 1,500 Carvana PPA Tour points for the winners. 

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• Mesa, AZ was the home to the first PPA event which wrapped on Feb 13, 2020. 
• Original gold medalists include Ben Johns, Lucy Kovalova, and Matt Wright. 
• This event will be played at Arizona Athletic Grounds – which didn’t open until January of 2022.
• Stop #5 of the 2025 Carvana PPA Tour season – features a progressive draw, with one round per day in each discipline, starting with round of 64 on Tuesday. 
• PickleballTV (and the app) will have the broadcast with FS1 taped coverage Fri-Sun nights.  

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending medalists: Anna Leigh Waters, Mary Brascia, Lea Jansen
• Catherine Parenteau (7) is in the same quarter as Waters (1).
• Kaitlyn Christian (2) is 4 for 4 in reaching finals – can she make 5 in a row? 
• Possible R16 matchups: Fahey (6) vs. J. Johnson (12) and Todd (5) vs. Wang (9).
• Watch out for: Parris Todd – lived her best life on Sunday in Tucson – won gold, her boyfriend Hunter Johnson won gold and they were both in a Super Bowl commercial. 

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending medalists: Ben Johns, Federico Staksrud, Connor Garnett
• Staksrud (1) looks to rebound from early round upset loss in Tucson to the Aussie Tom Evans (46). 
• Ben Johns returns to singles as the (2) – in the same quarter as the red-hot Christian Alshon (8)
• Dylan Frazier (9), playing with a Joola paddle, grabbed bronze with his new weapon in Tucson. 
• Watch out for: Hunter Johnson (4), following impressive win in Tucson over Alshon in the final.

MIXED DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Waters/Johns, Wilson/David, Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson 
• Massive draw – all seeds will be playing on Tuesday. 
• Can Bright/Bar (3) rebound from their struggles in Tucson?
• Fahey/Frazier (14) took bronze in Tucson – looking to maintain their top play. 
• Watch out for: Johnson/Johnson (2) beat Waters and Johns on this center court in 2023.

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Waters/Parenteau, Tuionetoa/Dizon, Humberg/Johnson
• Waters/Parenteau (1) dominated Bright/Rohrabacher (2) in the Tucson final by a cumulative score of 33-6. 
• Schneemann is back after 2 golds in Australia playing with Dizon as the 4 seed. 
• The Kawamoto twins (9) are paired together for the first time since losing a 5-game thriller in the Veolia Milwaukee Open final. 
• Watch out for: Tuionetoa/Kovalova (7) – very talented first-time partners with the perfect right/left player balance. 

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Frazier/Johnson, Daescu/Tardio, Newman/Wilson
• Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud are the top seed – (have 2 titles together including the PPA Finals).
• Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio will hit the 20X44 for the first time as the 2 seed. 
• How will Ignatowich and Newman fare as the 8 seed? First time together on the PPA Tour since April of 2023 in Red Rock. 
• Watch out for: Daescu/Alshon (4) – deserving champions in Tucson, with semifinal win over Johns/Patriquin.