STORYLINES FOR THE VEOLIA MILWAUKEE OPEN PRESENTED BY MILLER LITE

PLUS A CIBC FINALS RACE UPDATE

OVERALL TOP 5:

• FINAL CHANCE TO RACE: As the final event of the year, this is the last chance for players to earn points to qualify for the CIBC Finals. 
• INSIDE JOB: This event will be played indoors at the Baird Center, requiring adjustments to lighting and speed of play for the players. 
• TAKING A BREAK: Players sitting this one out include Waters, B. Johns, Parenteau, Alshon, JW
• MAJOR LEAGUE PREP:  Players like Anna Bright adding singles to be ready for MLP Playoffs.
• BACK TO BACK? Can Newman and Patriquin, Rohrabacher and Bright, or Staksrud win back to back tourneys? 

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

• Event #22 of the year. First event at the Baird Center, so no defending champions.  
• As an Open, 1000 points to the winner and the order is singles Thursday, mixed Friday, women’s/men’s doubles Saturday, then Championship Sunday. 
• Over 930 amateurs playing in this event. 
• Broadcast start times are 11am Central Thursday through Sunday. 
• Coverage on Pickleball TV (Prime Video, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, LG, and many more) and fans can go to pickleballtv.com to download the Pickleballtv app to get coverage of all courts with full DVR features. 

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

• Lea Jansen carries the (1) seed – can she make a run to Sunday?
• Must see first round matchup: Bright (19) vs. Bouchard (11) 
• Parris Todd (5) and Mary Brascia (4) are fighting for the last spot in the Finals and are in the same half of the draw
• WATCH OUT FOR: Kate Fahey (6) – she has climbed to the #7 spot in the Race after an impressive second half performance in singles. 

MEN’S SINGLES:

• Staksrud (1) is the top seed and rolls into Wisconsin with his first Slam victory of the year. 
• Quang Duong (2) made all 3 event semifinals in Farmers Branch so he is full of confidence. 
• Dylan Frazier (3) won the first event of the year – could he also win the last one before Finals?
• WATCH OUT FOR: Michael Loyd (11) – had his best finish ever in a PPA event with his run to the finals at Worlds. 

MIXED DOUBLES:

• NEW FUN PAIRING MUST WATCH: Anna Bright and Dylan Frazier (1)
• NEW FUN PAIRING MUST WATCH 2: James Ignatowich & Rachel Rohrabacher (2)
• NEW FUN PAIRING MUST WATCH 3: Kate Fahey and Federico Staksrud (8)
• WATCH OUT FOR: Tina Pisnik and Quang Duong (5) – Texas Ranchers MLP teammates looking to do damage on the PPA tour before MLP playoff semifinals.  

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

• Bright/Rohrabacher (1) – flying high after sweeping Waters and Parenteau in the final at Worlds. 
• First time partners Smith and Todd are the 2 seed. 
• Kawamoto sisters (5) are playing together and capable of making a deep run.  
• WATCH OUT FOR: Black and Jones (4) – must see TV with their defense, lobs, dives, and tenacity. 

MEN’S DOUBLES:

• Patriquin/Newman (5) are running it back as undefeated Slam champions.
• New partners alert: Ignatowich and Klinger (7) – lefty teen with Big Poppa. 
• New partners alert 2: Duong/Frazier (2) – no JW so QD will be manning the left. 
• WATCH OUT FOR: Staksrud/Tardio (1) – Top seeds playing together again – won the Selkirk Kansas City Open in August.

SINGLES:

Top 8 men and women qualify. Points distribution for all events in Milwaukee: Round of 64:25, Round of 32: 50, Round of 16: 100, Quarterfinals: 200, Semifinals: 400, Bronze medalist: 600, Silver medalist 800, Gold: 1000.

Analysis: ALW and Fed have the top spots locked in. On the women’s side, Kate Fahey’s run to the finals has vaulted her to the 7^th position.  Parris Todd holds the 8^th spot, but is in the same side of the Milwaukee draw as Mary Brascia at 9. On the men’s side, Alshon and Sock are not in the draw so these 8 spots are set.  

MIXED DOUBLES:

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

Analysis: On the women’s side: Rachel Rohrabacher’s bronze at Worlds helped her grab spot number 8, for now. Jessie Irvine’s great runs, including a win, with Gabe Tardio have put her just below the cut line. Can she and Gabe secure enough points to pass Rohrabacher (and for Gabe to pass the cut line)? Thomas Wilson is unlikely to play in the Finals so that means the 9^th spot will be the target. Can Hayden Patriquin leap over Tyson McGuffin and earn the final invite?  

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, Allyce Jones has made an impressive run up the standings and now sits at number 15 – looking good to qualify. The Kawamotos are playing together and have a slim chance of catching Vivienne David who is not in the draw. 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 where James Ignatowich is positioned as the last player in. Garnett is not in the draw so Navratil or Loong would need some huge results to pass Ignatowich.