Competition was heating up as the PPA Tour resumed play in Rockwall, TX for the PPA Texas Open. As many players featured their new Perseus paddles, multiple JOOLA players found their way to the podium, with Ben Johns securing a gold medal in all three events.

Singles play started on Thursday with the Men’s bracket showing some unexpected results. On the top half of the draw, Ben Johns started by defeating Clarke Wilson and Travis Rettenmaier in impressive fashion and secured his spot on Championship Sunday. On the other half of the draw, newcomer Jaume Martinez Vich demonstrated his prowess in the tournament as he triumphed over Yates Johnson and continued his winning streak with a commanding victory against Dylan Frazier to stake his spot in the finals. Martinez Vich put up a strong fight against World #1, Ben Johns, but Johns proved to have more experience as he prevailed 11-2, 7-11, 11-5.  On the women’s side of things, Anna Leigh Waters continued to showcase her dominance with victories against Jenna Hessert (11-0, 11-2), Tatiana Ruhl (11-0, 11-2), Yana Grechkina (11-1, 11-2), and Hurricane Tyra Black (11-8, 11-6) to claim her spot in the gold medal match. Lea Jansen also fought her way to the finals, taking out Lina Padegimaite and Judit Castillo in the process. In the final matchup, Jansen and Waters fought a neck and neck battle, with Waters prevailing 3-11, 14-12, 12-10.

In the Mixed Doubles draw, Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters continued their streak of being undefeated as they didn’t drop a game making their way to the finals. On the other half of the draw, Federico Staksrud and Meghan Dizon made a strong run to the semifinals where they eventually dropped to Riley and Lindsey Newman. Lindsey and Riley were forced to take on the undefeated duo of Waters and Johns and dropped in three sets, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6 and Johns and Waters both claimed their second gold medal for the day.

In Women’s Doubles, Waters and partner, Catherine Parenteau, had a tight semifinal match against Lea Jansen and Jessie Irvine. Although delayed with the rain, Waters and Parenteau proved victorious, winning 13-11, 11-7 to make their way to Championship Sunday. On the other half of the draw, Lacy Schneemann and Anna Bright battled in multiple three set matches to make their way to the semifinals against Meghan Dizon and Etta Wright. Dizon/Wright, PPA Gold medalists at the Red Rock Open, were too strong from Schneemann/Bright, taking them down in a tight three set contest. Although Dizon/Wright have had Championship Sunday experience, they couldn’t come up with the fire they needed to beat the undefeated duo of Waters/Parenteau. In the backdraw, Schneemann and Bright fought back to claim bronze against Jansen/Irvine.

In Men’s Doubles, the Johns brothers continued their dominance as they made their way to the finals, with only one tight contest against Federico Staksrud and Pablo Tellez in the quarterfinals. On the other half of the bracket, Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson yet again faced the partnership of Matt Wright and Riley Newman, but this time came out on top as they defeated Wright/Newman in straight sets 11-5, 11-4. In another familiar matchup, Ben and Collin Johns continued their winning streak as they claimed gold with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 victory. This victory also completed the triple crown for Ben Johns, securing gold in singles, mixed, and gender doubles.

The PPA will next visit the west coast for the Orange County Cup in San Clemente, California.

Medal List:

Ben Johns: Gold - Men's Singles, Gold - Mixed Doubles, Gold - Men's Doubles

Anna: Bronze - Women's Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles

Etta: Silver - Women's Doubles

Lacy: Bronze - Women's Doubles

Lea: Silver - Women's Singles

Equipment List:

All players played with the JOOLA Perseus, releasing tomorrow, June 6.