Hunter Johnson is the man to beat in Dallas
Four singles golds since September, including an 11-1, 11-3 rout of Ben Johns, make him the form pick for the men's world title.
Form is the only currency that matters in a knockout draw, and nobody in men's singles has more of it than Hunter Johnson.
Start in Cary, North Carolina, at the season-opening National Championships in September. Johnson beat No. 1 seed Chris Haworth 11-9, 11-1 in the semifinals, then came back from a game down to beat Federico Staksrud 7-11, 11-3, 11-0. The Kitchen reported it was his ninth career singles title, third all-time behind Ben Johns and Staksrud.
The Vegas statement
Then Las Vegas. Seeded third, Johnson met Johns in the final and beat him 11-1, 11-3, one of the most lopsided finals of the event.
Back to back in Asia-Pacific
Two weeks later in Brisbane, the top seed won every match in straight games until the final, where he beat Christian Alshon 11-8, 5-11, 11-8. He led 7-0 in the third before Alshon pulled to 8-7, Pickleball.com reported. "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! I've always wanted to do that," Johnson told the crowd.
A week after that he won the Hong Kong Slam, beating Tama Shimabukuro 11-4, 6-11, 11-7. That makes four singles golds since September.
Why it matters at Worlds
- He closes. The 11-0 third game against Staksrud and the 11-1 opener against Johns are not matches that slipped away from his opponents. He took them.
- He wins tight ones too. Alshon and Shimabukuro both forced third games. Johnson finished both.
- The field is deep. Staksrud, Johns, Alshon and Haworth have all reached late rounds this fall, and Shimabukuro is on the rise.
The case against
Singles is volatile. At the Chicago Cup on Oct. 11, Roscoe Bellamy beat top seed Haworth 11-4, 11-5 for the title, Haworth's loss coming after four straight final appearances, per the PPA. One bad day at a Major ends a run.
A note on rankings: Johnson is No. 14 in the PPA's overall World Pickleball Rankings, which weight doubles and mixed far more than singles. In singles alone, he is the player to beat.
Our view: Johnson is the favorite, not a lock. If he reaches Sunday, the field will have to beat the best version of him we have seen.
This story was produced by the Pickleballer news desk under Pickleballer’s standards. See an error? Tell us.
