Johnson routs Johns, Bright wins twice in Las Vegas
Hunter Johnson won the singles final 11-1, 11-3, Alshon and Daescu got their revenge, and Bright and Patriquin beat the top mixed seeds.
The PPA Tour's Las Vegas Open at the Darling Tennis Center, Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, produced the fall's most lopsided final and its biggest mixed doubles upset.
The finals
- Men's singles: Hunter Johnson (3) def. Ben Johns (19), 11-1, 11-3
- Women's singles: Kaitlyn Christian (2) def. Kiora Kunimoto, 11-8, 2-11, 11-4
- Men's doubles: Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu (2) def. Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio, 11-6, 11-8
- Women's doubles: Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright def. Catherine Parenteau/Tyra Black, 11-8, 10-12, 11-5
- Mixed doubles: Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin (2) def. Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters (1), 11-9, 11-7
What stood out
Revenge in men's doubles. Alshon and Daescu beat the team that won their 2025 final here in five games. The Dink reported it was their second straight men's doubles title to open the season, after the Arizona Open.
An 18-year-old in the final. Kunimoto upset top seed Kate Fahey to reach the women's singles final before losing to Christian in three.
Bright's week. She was the only player to win two titles. "The satisfaction is definitely really high," she told Pickleball.com after the mixed final.
Waters' 200th, delayed. The mixed loss kept Waters at 199 career titles. She got No. 200 a week later with a triple crown at the Chicago Cup.
Upsets early. Luc Pham beat top seed Christopher Haworth in the round of 16. Parenteau and Black became the first team to take a game off Waters and Bright.
This story was produced by the Pickleballer news desk under Pickleballer’s standards. See an error? Tell us.
