Waters and Johns Triple Up Again at Second Event of the Year

Another triple crown for Ben Johns. That’s 13 in his career.

Another one for Anna Leigh Waters, too. That’s nine in the past two seasons.

The two dominated the field at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Open in Phoenix, Ariz., and it would be difficult to say the results were unexpected.

However, there’s one thing. 

As dominant as Waters and Johns have been – both together as mixed doubles partners and separately while playing and winning through twists and turns – the players who faced the two had their chances.

They truly did. Ask any of them. They’d talk about the situations that could have gone one way, but didn’t, or the opportunities missed. No doubt, a bit of film review would show the points that got away. There were plenty of instances where that was true Sunday in Phoenix. Lots of them.

But any time an opponent got close, gained some momentum or it looked like things might go south for Waters and Johns, the two didn’t panic. They didn’t show worry. If there was concern, it was hard to see. If there was a problem, it didn’t linger.

That’s how good Waters and Johns have been over the past calendar year and that’s how good they were again during the weekend in Arizona. Any time there was a challenge, the two were ready to rise to the occasion.

Let’s start with Waters. After cruising past Lucy Kovalova and Matt Wright in the mixed doubles finals and taking her first title of the day, Waters returned to the court in the next match and paired with Catherine Parenteau against Lea Jansen and Allyce Jones.

After an 11-3 victory in Game 1 where it looked like Waters and Parenteau might glide through the final without real trouble, the two lost game two, 11-7. Then, after taking an 8-4 lead in Game 3, Waters’ left thumb nail was torn off by an errant ball and required bandaging. The lead disappeared. Jansen and Jones had their chance. The door to victory had been opened and they came back to tie things up at 9-9.

Then it was over. Parenteau and Waters went on to win game three 11-9 and the drama faded. Another win to Waters as she and Parenteau went on to win 11-7 in game four. 

And singles? Waters went from friend to foe with Parenteau in the women’s final. After Waters jumped out to an 11-3 victory in game one, she lost a decisive game two to Parenteau, 11-4. 

Parenteau had the advantage and some serious momentum heading into game three. Waters was in her third match of the day and was facing some adversity heading into game three. 

However, even in the face of Parenteau playing at the top of her game, Waters went up 3-0 immediately and then cruised for a 11-6 win in the next game. Winner. Triple crown accomplished. Again.

“She’s amazing,” Waters said of Parenteau. “It’s tough to play against her in the finals. My mom was telling me, ’She’s not your friend.’ But it’s just so tough.”

If it was tough, it didn’t show. If Johns had it tough, it was also hard to spot. 

He and Waters beat Wright and Kovalova, 11-2, 11-8, 11-9 and then he and brother Collin Johns got past Riley Newman and Wright, but not without some drama.

The familiar foes and two top men’s teams in pickleball with contrasting styles lined up in game two after Johns and Johns won game one, 11-3. Newman and Wright led 9-7 and then 10-9, but weren’t able to finish. Johns and Johns went on to an 11-8 victory in that game and swept their way to the title by taking the final game as well.

“We had some sloppy errors,” Collin Johns said. “We had to clean it up.”

Spotless. Two wins for the pair in two tournaments so far this season, giving Ben Johns his second title of the day in Arizona. And then it was on to singles for Ben Johns, who didn’t get a break before moving on to the fifth final of the day to take on Federico Staksrud for the second-consecutive tournament.

Johns came out in game one and seemed to have little issue taking the first game 11-5, but then there was that hiccup, the familiar lull that both he and Waters faced and then faced down. Staksrud led 5-0 in game two and then outscored Johns 6-3 the rest of the way to earn a chance at a game three and an opportunity to keep Johns from the triple crown.

But it was not to be.

Johns routed Staksrud in the deciding game, 11-3 and is now six-for-six in two tournaments in 2023.

“I wasn’t ready for that onslaught,” Johns said of Staksrud’s run in game two. “But I played well in that third game. I’m going to keep going as long as I can and I’m excited for everything that is going well in pickleball.”