The PPA Tour returned to the mountains of St. George, Utah for this year’s PPA Red Rock Open. This tournament offered a unique medaling opportunity for professional players as top players Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters opted to skip this stop on tour.

Play started on Wednesday with Men’s and Women’s Singles, battling through chilly temperatures as well as a bit of snow. Tyson McGuffin made his return from an injury with a strong performance, cruising his way to Championship Saturday. On the other half of the bracket, first time finalist, Pablo Tellez, made his way to the finals with a win over PPA tour veteran, Jay Devilliers. In Women’s play, Catherine Parenteau continued her strong singles showing, dropping only three total points in the semifinal to earn her spot in the finals. In the other semifinal, Salome Devidze took down JOOLA player, Lea Jansen, to set the stage for Saturday. Jansen went on to take third, taking down Irina Tereschenko in the bronze medal match. 

Mixed doubles kicked off on Thursday, with immediate upsets occurring within the bracket. The one seed of McGuffin/Parenteau were knocked out in the second round by the duo of Zane Navratil and Susannah Barr in three sets 11-3, 8-11, 11-8. Navratil/Barr continued their run to the semifinals where they were bested by James Ignatowich and Anna Bright in a tight three-set contest. On the other half of the draw, Riley Newman and Andrea Koop teamed up, earning the two seed but were taken down by AJ Koller and Jessie Irvine in the semifinal. Battling it out on Championship Saturday, Ignatowich and Bright earned their first PPA gold together, beating Koller and Irvine in straight sets 11-7, 12-10, 11-3. 

Lots of excitement ensued on Friday as new partnerships made their debut in Gender Doubles. On the men’s side, Tyson McGuffin paired up with Brendon Long, the new draftee to the Challenger League of Major League Pickleball. The duo cruised their way into Championship Sunday, not dropping a set as they made their way to the finals. Collin Johns, who typically plays with his brother, Ben Johns, made his way to the finals alongside Dekel Bar. On Championship Saturday, the two teams fought incredibly hard in an exhilarating five-set match where momentum swung back and forth for the entirety of the match. After nearly two hours of play, McGuffin and Long came out on top, winning 11-1, 3-11, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11.

In Women’s Doubles, the Utah natives seemed to bring their home court advantage as they made their way to the podium. Returning partners, Lea Jansen and Allyce Jones made their way to the finals, taking down Lucy Kovalova and Callie Smith in the semis. Meghan Dizon and Etta Wright, partners in MLP for the Seattle Pioneers, continued their successful run as they squeaked a three-set win over Anna Bright and Vivienne David to earn their spot in the finals. Similar to the Men’s Final, the women’s final took all five sets for a winner to be named, with Dizon/Wright closing it out over Jones/Jansen, 10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 3-11, 11-8.

In amateur play, JOOLA’s youngest sponsored player, Jack Loughridge (Age 9), took gold in 2.5/3.0 Men’s Singles. 

Player Equipment:

Allyce Jones: Solaire CFS 14 Swift

Lea Jansen: Solaire CFS 14

Anna Bright: Solaire CFS 14

Etta Wright: Hyperion CFS 16