STORYLINES FOR THE LAPIPLASTY PICKLEBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

PLUS A CIBC FINALS RACE UPDATE

OVERALL TOP 5:

• SLAM DUNK: This is the 4^th and final Slam of the year, which is a progressive draw, meaning one round of each discipline is played each day, starting with the round of 64 on Tuesday, November 5^th. 
• YOUR POINT IS? Slams are worth the most points, 2,000, twice that of an Open. 
• RACIN’ TO CALI: This is the 2^nd last event to earn points to qualify for the Finals in San Clemente in December (full breakdown at the end of the document). 
• ANOTHER DUEL? Will Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau stare down Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher again inside the Brookhaven Country Club “corral”?
• APP-SOLUTELY: The new Pickleballtv app launches November 5^th – featuring 6 courts of pro coverage, pause/rewind, VOD, plus exclusive pickleball content wherever fans stream (phone, computer, tv, etc.). 

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• Event #21 of the year. Brookhaven Country Club, one of the signature pickleball properties for Invited, is the host. 
• Brookhaven is home to several of the Dallas-based pros, including Brandon French and Blaine Hovenier.
• 3,500 amateurs will compete for a title – it’s the biggest week of pickleball the world has ever seen. 
• Thursday night November 7^th is the Celebrity Pickleball Showdown, featuring sports legends Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Terrell Owens, Adrian Peterson, John Isner, and more. 
• Pickleball Boulevard is chocked full of fun and excitement: food, gear, partner experiences, and a Stagecoach-like country music concert series.
• Broadcast start times are 11am Central Tuesday through Sunday. 
• Full coverage on Pickleball TV (Prime Video, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, LG, and many more).
• Tennis Channel coverage Saturday and Sunday from 12-4pm Central. 
• First year for the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships (defending medalists listed below will be the winners from the 2023 Brookhaven event)

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending medalists: Anna Leigh Waters, Catherine Parenteau, Judit Castillo
• Must see potential round of 16 matchup: (8) Todd vs. (9) Fahey. 
• Catherine Parenteau has dropped to the 4^th seed, which puts her on the ALW side of the draw.  
• WATCH OUT FOR: Brooke Buckner (2) – has earned the 2 seed, seeks her 4^th 2024 title.

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Defending medalists: JW Johnson, Jaume Martinez Vich, Chris Haworth
• 7 different winners in men’s singles in 2024: Federico Staksrud (1), Ben Johns (2), Conner Garnett (3), Quang Duong (5), Dylan Frazier (6), Hunter Johnson (8), and Chris Haworth (not in the draw). 
• Top players without a win in 2024 include: Tyson McGuffin (4), Jaume Martinez Vich (7), Jack Sock (9), JW Johnson (11). 
• WATCH OUT FOR: Quang Duong (5) – won his first title in Las Vegas at the last PPA event in Vegas.  

MIXED DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Waters/Johns, Bright/Ignatowich, JW Johnson/Jorja Johnson
• NEW FUN PAIRING MUST WATCH: Anna Bright & Quang Duong (4)
• NEW FUN PAIRING MUST WATCH 2: James Ignatowich & Vivienne David (3)
• WATCH OUT FOR: Alshon/Wright (5) – 3^rd tournament together – have only ever lost to ALW/Ben and played a 3-game thriller against them at the Rate Las Vegas Open. 

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Waters/Parenteau, Brascia/Brascia, Bright/Jade Kawamoto
• Wright/Dizon (3) – is this the week they find the height of their powers and grab a medal?
• Great potential round of 16 matchup: Black/Jones (7) vs. Buckner/Wang (11)
• Great potential round of 16 matchup 2: Jansen/Pisnik (5) vs. Brascia/Brascia (10)
• WATCH OUT FOR: Kovalova and Smith (4) – can they rekindle their magic from 2023?

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Defending medalists: Johns/Johns, Johnson/Frazier, Newman/Alshon
• Alshon and Ignatowich (8) looking to make a run, despite their social media sparring. 
• Fun partners alert: Patriquin/Newman (7) – playing together for the first time. 
• WATCH OUT FOR: Daescu/Tardio (5) – 2 titles on the year and looking for a 3^rd.

CIBC FINALS RACE UPDATE

SINGLES: Top 8 men and women qualify. Points distribution for all events: Round of 64:50, Round of 32: 100, Round of 16: 200, Quarterfinals: 400, Semifinals: 800, Bronze medalist: 1200, Silver medalist 1600, Gold: 2000.

Analysis: ALW and Fed have the top spots locked in. On the women’s side, can Kate Fahey get enough points to leap over Mary Brascia and make a spectacular run to the finals? On the men’s side, Alshon is NOT in the singles draw due to injury so Jack Sock is the player to watch for a potential leap over the cut line. 

MIXED DOUBLES: Top 8 men and women qualify – 8 teams will be formed after the Milwaukee event.

Analysis: On the women’s side: Jessie Irvine’s great runs, including a win, with Gabe Tardio have put her just above the cut line. Can Rachel, Lea or Meghan catch her? It will take a deep run. On the men’s side, Thomas Wilson is unlikely to play so that means the 9^th spot will be the target, which Hayden Patriquin holds by just 100 points over Riley Newman. Gabe Tardio and Andrei Daescu are also lurking but it would take a run to the semifinals or better to grab a spot. 

MEN’S & WOMEN’S DOUBLES: Top 16 men and women qualify – 8 teams will be formed after the Milwaukee event.

Analysis: On the women’s side, the top 13 are in good shape. Parris Todd is NOT playing women’s doubles in Dallas, so she will not add to her total. At the cut line, the Kawamoto vs. Kawamoto situation is fascinating. They are not playing in Dallas and are playing together in the last event in Milwaukee, so Jackie will have 50 more points than Jade at the end of the season. The question is, will it be enough? They would have to catch Todd or David for both of them to make it. And Allyce Jones would like to make that a moot point by jumping over both Kawamotos. On the men’s side, Thomas Wilson holds the 16^th spot and is unlikely to play in the Finals, so we will focus on spot 17 and Connor Garnett as the player just above the cut line. That puts, shockingly, James Ignatowich as the player first out if the season ended today. Can he make a run? Loong will play WITH Garnett (meaning same number of points), so those two would have to earn enough points to jump past Newman for them both to leave Dallas above the qualification line.