We're baaaaack!👯‍♀️ Golden in Virginia🥇

I’ve missed you guys! Unfortunately, my laptop spontaneously crapped out in Virginia Beach, and I was unable to write a Thursday edition for you guys. I literally have been in the Apple Store for a few hours this morning and ended up buying the one I am currently typing on, lol. I feel like we have so much to catch up on! We’d better get started🤪

That was such a bad joke, I apologize. But, as many of you know, I played mixed with CJ this week! It was really fun, and we reached the quarterfinals before falling to a very good team in Andrei and Tina.

In all honesty, I do not like playing mixed on the left at all, but after Dekel (my original Virginia Beach partner) told me his hamstring might not be ready in time, I immediately knew I wanted to challenge myself and play with a lefty. I’ve been so grooved on the right in mixed that this felt like a serendipitous opportunity to try something different and work on some new patterns that might be helpful for Anna Leigh and I, lol. Thankfully, CJ and I were able to make it work and I was so impressed with his game.

If you followed pro pickleball in 2022, congrats, you’re a nerd! But you also probably remember my days of playing PPA mixed almost exclusively with Tyler Loong in my first year. It’s crazy to think that I used to be more comfortable on the left than right in mixed. I watched back some of those matches and found that my technique has actually changed quite a bit, in some ways for the better and in others for the worse.

I do feel like I improved with every match we played, but mixed with a lefty is definitely far from a solved puzzle. I often felt a bit lost and unsure of what to do, and I do think CJ and I would do better if we played together again, but I just don’t know that I see the same ceiling with a lefty FOR ME as with a right-handed man. Like, I’ve pushed Ben and AL with righties, even a few wins. Am I really going to beat them dinking crosscourt with Ben Johns and bail-out attacking at Anna Leigh? I don’t know that I think so, but who knows!

The results were generally chalk this weekend. I have to shout out Anna Leigh for an incredibly clutch win over Brooke Buckner this morning- her shotmaking from being down 10-9 in the first was just incredible. Sometimes all you can do is applaud.

Ben and Gabe are now 25-0 in their last five events with no signs of slowing down. I wonder who will be the next pair to beat them? I’m expecting a significant shake-up in men’s doubles teams next year with players just trying to get over the hump that is Ben/Gabe. Travis Rettenmaier posted a super interesting Instagram story ranking men’s doubles players in various categories. I generally agree with it and love that he shouted out Matt Wright, who just keeps getting it done with another great run with Jay this week.

Congrats to Ben and AL on their gold in mixed and to the Johnsons on their silver. Those teams are definitely currently the class of PPA mixed doubles and I am excited to play with Hayden in my next few events to try to upset them!

Of course, Anna Leigh capped off her STELLAR week with a gold in women’s doubles alongside yours truly. Hallelujah! I was definitely feeling the pressure this week, and I will write more about women’s on Thursday and about some of the things we did that got us back on top and helped us refocus after our losses. You definitely won’t want to miss it! I think a lot of the things we did will apply to you too.

Men’s singles was probably the most entertaining it has been for me in a while. There are perhaps two big reasons for this: Jack Sock and Jaume Martinez-Vich wanted it more than I have ever seen them want it, and Chris Haworth seems to have found his PPA form.

I have a lot of general thoughts on singles as it relates to one of the macro meta-shifts in the last few years and I will get to that eventually. But I loved seeing Jack and Jaume compete like dogs for every point, and I think Chris Haworth is my favorite singles player to watch. It’s insane how smooth he is and how well he moves at his size. His shots aren’t even that wristy… just so pretty.

I’ve always been amazed that cheating isn’t a bigger problem in professional pickleball, but as the amount of money in the sport increases and we (potentially) shift to a prize money model on the PPA next year, this is a problem that really does need to get under control.

The side courts are effectively the wild wild west, and we saw this when Salome Devidze and Rafa Hewett made a hugely consequential, incorrect call against AJ Koller and Kaitlyn Christian. The story of the week though in regards to cheating is definitely Dennis Uspensky, which Zane broke down well. I’ve never heard of this guy, but he is definitely leaning into the drama, and I wonder if the 90-day suspension from the PPA Tour will do much to curb his behavior.

My last comment on cheating/officiating is that we need a better system for referees to call double-bounces. We saw this in the Jack Sock/Connor Garnett quarterfinal come up twice. It’s a tough call for players to make, and with referees usually watching for foot-faults, it goes uncalled far too often. One that was uncalled on Jack’s side was honestly egregious, and even though he was insistent he got to the ball, that’s a call that can’t be missed, and I wish Connor had been able to challenge it. I wonder if the solution is for the PPA to implement the same challenge rules as MLP, in which potential faults can be challenged at any time in the rally.

Thanks for reading everyone! That’s all for this edition, and make sure to tune in on Thursday for a deep dive on women’s doubles (: