Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters are in contention to complete a Slam sweep at the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships. Photo: PPA Tour
Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters are back to doing what they love to do - inflicting complete command and control over the PPA Tour. The duo sealed spots in all five finals - mixed doubles, men’s doubles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, and women’s singles - at the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships on Saturday.
While Johns and Waters - the top seeded pair - were expected to reach the mixed doubles final, they maintained the same tempo to advance to the men’s and women’s doubles finals as well, and also booked their spots in the men’s and women’s singles finals - putting themselves in contention for a Slam sweep.
In the mixed doubles semifinal, Johns and Waters did not have to toil hard as they saw off the ninth-seeded pair of Andrei Daescu and Tina Pisnik 11-2, 11-6. Johns and Waters will face Christian Alshon and Etta Tuioneatoa in the gold medal match.
Waters, meanwhile, made her first tournament final with Anna Bright since they paired up after breaking their respective partnerships with Catherine Parenteau and Rachel Rohrabacher. In an interesting turn of events, the former partners will now run into each other in the women’s doubles final, with Waters and Bright facing Parenteau and Rohrabacher in Sunday’s Championship clash.
Waters and Bright defeated No. 3 seeds Tyra Black and Parris Todd in straight games (11-2, 11-7) in the semifinals, while Parenteau and Rohrabacher got the better of ninth-seeded Kate Fahey and Tina Pisnik 11-9, 11-6.
In Contention For Treble
Waters will be in contention to complete a treble at the Slam event as she goes head-to-head against Fahey, the winner of the North Carolina Open in April, in the women's singles final. Waters defeated fourth-seeded Parris Todd 11-2, 11-9 in the semifinals to reach the final, while Fahey triumphed in the second semifinal with an 11-2, 11-6 victory over No. 7 seed Catherine Parenteau.
Johns, meanwhile, put the Major League Pickleball (MLP) Columbus controversy behind him by booking his place in the men’s doubles final with his partner Gabe Tardio.
Johns and Tardio avenged their defeat to No. 3 seeds Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu at the Mesa Cup back in February with a 10-12, 11-3, 11-4 win. They will now face JW Johnson and CJ Klinger in the final. Johnson and Klinger defeated Dylan Frazier and Dekel Bar 11-6, 11-13, 11-8 in the other semifinals.
Like Waters, Johns will also be in contention for a treble, having booked his spot in the men’s singles final with a 7-11, 11-3, 11-8 victory over No. 2 seed Hunter Johnson. Johns will face Connor Garnett on Championship Sunday. Garnett cruised past No. 8 seed Dylan Frazier with an 11-6, 11-3 victory in the semifinals.
