Pickleball was met by rainy conditions as the PPA Tour kicked off the Atlanta Open. Not only did players have to battle through the conditions, but they were also faced with the return of world #1 ranked player, Ben Johns. Johns had previously sat out off the last four tournaments but returned with his normal partners of Collin Johns and Anna Leigh Waters.Singles play ensued on Thursday with heavy rain causing some serious delays. Due to the rain delays, some of the back draw matches were cancelled. On the men’s side of the draw, things seemed to be business as usual for the top players up until the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Ben Johns was met by Christian Alshon who was able to upset the one-seed in three sets, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7. On the lower half of the draw, Jake Kusmider took out Dylan Frazier, while Connor Garnett took out Tyson McGuffin. In the semis, JW Johnson and Christian Alshon had a fierce battle, with Johnson being able to close it out in the third set, 11-9. Additionally, Garnett was able to take the win over Kusmider, making it to his first Championship Sunday. Although Garnett was able to make a deep run, the experience of JW Johnson proved to be too much as Johnson secured the gold 8-11, 11-6, 11-9. On the women’s side, Anna Leigh Waters continued her streak of domination as she blew past Catherine Parenteau, the only other player to beat her this year, 11-1, 11-0. On the other side of things, Mary Brascia upset Lea Jansen to make her way to her first Championship Sunday. However, after only losing once this year, it’s not looking like Waters is slipping any further, as she grabbed the first of her three golds on the day beating Brascia 11-5, 11-4.Mixed Doubles was the next event to kick off, luckily with some better weather. Again, Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns proved why they have been undefeated for the season as they cruised their way to Championship Sunday. Riley Newman and Parris Todd were partnered up which we saw earlier in the year at the PPA Red Clay Championships in Daytona Beach. After their short run in Daytona, they were able to clean up the errors as they also made their way to the finals. Todd/Newman put up a decent fight, losing in four sets to Waters/Johns 8-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-3.  Catherine Parenteau and Tyson McGuffin earned the bronze.In Men’s Doubles we saw the three dominant men’s teams duking it out for their chance at gold. Although they sat a couple tournaments out, Ben and Collin Johns were back like they never left as they breezed their way to Championship Sunday. The two-seed of Matt Wright and Riley Newman came up once again against JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier in the semifinals, a match up that can go either way, but Newman/Wright prevailed this time around. The matchup of Newman/Wright against Johns/Johns is one that we have seen time and time again, with Newman/Wright struggling to come up with something against the Johns brothers. Championship Sunday was no different, as Johns/Johns continued their streak, winning 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.  In Women’s Doubles, we saw familiar faces making the podium. Anna Bright got another go at partnering up with Anna Leigh Waters, proving to be a strong partnership as they made their way into Championship Sunday. Waters/Bright were able to take out Catherine Parenteau and Parris Todd in the semis, who eventually fell to bronze. The other semifinals featured the duo of Mary and Maggie Brascia, a sister duo out of Mission Viejo, California, who were up against Jorja Johnson and Vivienne David. In one of the closest semifinals that we have seen to date, Brascia/Brascia gave up six match points against Johnson/David to lose 14-12 in the third set. The stage was set for Johnson/David to face the dominant duo of Bright/Waters, with Bright and Waters securing the gold 11-4, 11-3, 11-5, and completing another triple crown victory for Waters.The next stop on the PPA Tour will be the PPA Orange County Cup in San Clemente, California.Equipment List:Ben Johns -- Perseus (Available June 6)Anna Bright -- PerseusLea Jansen -- Solaire CFS 14 Medal List:Ben Johns:  Gold- Men's Doubles, Gold- Mixed DoublesAnna Bright: Gold- Women's Doubles