$250,000 in Prize Money Up for Grabs at This Weekend’s Life Time Open
Professional pickleball is gearing up for something different this weekend. The Life Time Open represents a departure from the typical tournament format that fans have grown accustomed to seeing throughout the season. This isn’t your standard event with amateur brackets running alongside professional play, nor is it the usual mix of doubles disciplines that dominate the calendar. Instead, this tournament strips everything down to its purest form: singles competition among elite professionals, with a quarter million dollars in total prize money on the line.
The event takes place at Life Time Peachtree Corners, located just outside Atlanta, Georgia. This venue has become a familiar stop on the professional circuit, having hosted multiple Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP) events over recent years. The facility represents Life Time’s substantial investment in pickleball, part of a broader initiative that has seen the fitness company add courts to many of its clubs nationwide over the past five years. Peachtree Corners stands as one of the flagship locations for this commitment to the sport.
The timing of this tournament is particularly significant given Life Time’s growing involvement in professional pickleball. Just over two months ago, the company announced that the Life Time LT Pro 48 Pickleball would become the official ball of the Carvana PPA Tour. This partnership demonstrates how deeply Life Time has embedded itself within the sport’s ecosystem, moving beyond simply providing venues to becoming a product supplier for professional competition.
What Makes This Tournament Unique
The Life Time Open breaks from convention in several meaningful ways. First and foremost, this is an exclusively professional event. There are no amateur players competing on side courts, which is a standard feature of most professional tournaments. The typical tournament structure allows recreational players to compete in their own brackets while the pros play on the main courts, creating a festival atmosphere but also splitting attention and resources.
Here, the focus is singular and intense. No mixed doubles. No gender doubles. Just singles play featuring some of the world’s best players in one-on-one competition. This format highlights individual skill, fitness, and mental fortitude in ways that doubles play cannot. While doubles requires chemistry, communication, and strategic positioning with a partner, singles exposes every aspect of a player’s game without anywhere to hide.
The prize structure reflects the premium placed on this competition. Winners in both the men’s and women’s brackets will take home $50,000 each. That’s substantial money in professional pickleball, where prize pools have grown considerably but still don’t match the payouts seen in more established racquet sports. For context, this single-event payday rivals what some players earn across multiple tournaments.
The Format: A True Test of Endurance
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the Life Time Open is its match format. Each match consists of best three out of five games to eleven points, using side out scoring, with players needing to win by two points. For those unfamiliar with how this differs from standard formats, this represents a significantly longer and more grueling contest than what most professional players typically face.
In many professional tournaments, matches are played to shorter point totals or use rally scoring, which tends to speed up play. The five-game format means players need to win three complete games to advance. When you consider that each game must be won by two points, a single match could theoretically extend well beyond the typical timeframe. A close match where games go to 13-11 or 14-12 could leave even the fittest players gasping.
This format choice isn’t arbitrary. It’s designed to test the complete athlete. Fitness becomes a decisive factor in later rounds when accumulated fatigue from previous matches compounds with the demands of lengthy contests. Most professional pickleball players train extensively for doubles, where rallies can be shorter and there’s a partner to share the court coverage. Singles demands constant movement, with no one to cover half the court or spell you during points.
Although the tournament partners with the PPA Tour for operational support, the Life Time Open maintains an open player policy. This means professionals from the APP Tour and international players can compete without restrictions. This open-door approach creates bracket diversity that you don’t always see in tour-exclusive events, potentially producing unexpected matchups and storylines.
How to Watch
The tournament spans three days with progressive media coverage that reflects the escalating stakes. On Friday, October 17, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 matches run from 9am to 8pm Eastern Time, streaming on the PPA Tour YouTube Channel. This represents the most accessible viewing option, as YouTube requires no subscription and can be watched on virtually any device.
Saturday, October 18 features the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals. Coverage begins at noon Eastern Time on Pickleballtv, which is a subscription streaming service dedicated to pickleball content. From 6pm to 8pm, coverage shifts to FS2, marking the tournament’s first appearance on traditional cable sports networks. This broadcast window captures the tail end of the quarterfinals when stakes are highest and the field has narrowed to elite competitors.
Sunday, October 19 brings the tournament to its conclusion with Semifinals, Bronze Medal matches, and Finals. Early coverage from 10am to 6pm Eastern Time continues on Pickleballtv. The Finals receive premium placement on ESPN2 from 3pm to 5pm Eastern Time. This ESPN2 slot represents significant exposure for professional pickleball, placing the sport on a major cable sports network during weekend afternoon hours when sports viewership typically peaks.
Weather Considerations
The forecast for Peachtree Corners presents some challenges that could impact play quality and player performance. Temperatures are expected to be warm throughout the weekend, with humidity levels climbing to nearly 70%. High humidity affects both the ball’s flight characteristics and player stamina. Sweat doesn’t evaporate as efficiently in humid conditions, making it harder for the body to cool itself during intense physical exertion.
The most concerning weather element arrives Sunday, coinciding with the Finals. Morning rain is forecast, though organizers and fans alike hope the precipitation clears before the championship matches begin. Rain delays can disrupt rhythm, especially problematic for a singles format where momentum and mental focus play such critical roles. The outdoor courts at Life Time Peachtree Corners have no roof coverage, making play impossible during active precipitation.
The Women’s Draw
The women’s bracket features 42 entrants, creating an uneven bracket structure that necessitates byes for higher seeds. The top 22 seeds receive automatic advancement to the Round of 32, while the remaining 20 women compete in Round of 64 matches for the ten available spots. This structure rewards higher-ranked players with rest and ensures they don’t face elimination in their first match.
You can follow the complete women’s bracket through the tournament’s official bracket page, though a sign-in is required to access the live updates.
Top Seeds and Favorites
Parris Todd enters as a top seed despite carrying injury concerns. She rolled her ankle last week at the PPA Virginia Beach Cup, and ankle injuries can significantly impact the lateral movement and explosive changes of direction that singles demands. How she manages that injury throughout a grueling five-game format could determine how far she advances.
Lea Jansen brings multiple PPA Tour wins and consistent top-seven world rankings in women’s singles. Her resume demonstrates the sustained excellence required to compete at this level. Consistency matters enormously in singles, where there’s no partner to compensate for an off day or help stabilize performance when things aren’t clicking.
Kaitlyn Christian has been particularly hot in 2025, collecting multiple PPA Tour wins including Australia and the recent Las Vegas Open. That recent success provides both confidence and match-sharpness. She enters knowing her game is working at a high level and having recently proven she can close out tournaments under pressure.
Judit Castillo rounds out the top seeds with wins on both the PPA Tour and APP Tour within the last two years. She’s widely regarded as one of the most athletic women in professional pickleball, an attribute that becomes increasingly valuable as matches extend into fourth and fifth games. When technical skills are relatively equal at the professional level, superior fitness and athleticism often make the difference.
International Competitors
The women’s draw includes notable international talent that adds intrigue to the bracket. Pei Chuan Kao, originally from Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), won the APP Fort Lauderdale Open earlier this year. That victory demonstrated she can compete with and defeat top American professionals, and the open format of the Life Time Open gives her another opportunity to prove herself on a big stage.
Ting Chieh “Jamie” Wei, also from Chinese Taipei, participated in the UPA Trailblazer program this year, which provides developmental opportunities for emerging international talent. She’s already notched wins over PPA professionals Lina Padegimaite and Marcela Hones, showing she belongs in this field despite perhaps not having the name recognition of more established players.
Veteran Star Power
Simone Jardim represents pickleball royalty. With over 30 gold medals on the PPA Tour, including six in singles, she’s proven her excellence across multiple disciplines and over an extended career. Her induction into the Pickleball Hall of Fame recognizes her as one of the best female players of all time. While she may not have the youth of some competitors, her experience and tactical sophistication make her dangerous in any bracket.
Rising and Established Threats
Katerina Stewart has won gold and silver on the APP Tour this year and represents the newer generation of players pushing established stars. She’s someone opponents might overlook at their peril, as her recent results indicate rapidly improving form.
Bobbi Oshiro doesn’t play extensive singles but brings elite athleticism honed through APP Tour competition where she’s claimed three silver medals this year. Her athletic profile suggests she could surprise opponents expecting an easy match against someone without a deep singles resume.
Salome Devidze holds a unique distinction: she’s the last person to beat Anna Leigh Waters in singles competition, achieving that feat in June 2024. Waters has been virtually unbeatable in singles, making Devidze’s victory significant. That win proves she can perform at the absolute highest level when everything clicks.
The Men’s Draw
The men’s bracket began with 52 entrants in the qualifier draw, fighting for 16 spots in the main draw. This created intense competition just to reach the official bracket, ensuring that all 64 men in the Round of 64 earned their positions through competitive play. You can follow the complete men’s bracket through the official tournament site.
Top Seeds
Federico Staksrud enters as the top seed following his recent win at the PPA Sacramento Vintage Open. More impressively, he held the number one overall seed in men’s doubles for over a year and a half on the PPA Tour. That ranking dominance reflects sustained excellence, though doubles success doesn’t always translate directly to singles. His all-court game and consistency give him tools that work in both formats.
Connor Garnett brings multiple PPA Tour wins from the last two years and has maintained remarkable consistency, never seeding lower than five in any PPA tournament during that span. That floor of performance suggests he rarely has truly bad events, an important quality in a single-elimination format where one off day sends you home.
Chris Haworth recently signed with the PPA Tour and immediately validated that decision by winning the Virginia Beach Cup. That victory propelled him into the top ten on the PPA Tour rankings. He enters with momentum and confidence, having just proven he can win at this level.
Jaume Martinez Vich has never won gold on the PPA Tour, which might seem surprising for a top seed. However, he’s one of the most entertaining players to watch and consistently ranks in the top ten. Sometimes the most dangerous opponent is someone still seeking that breakthrough victory, playing with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
International Flair
Phuc Huynh from Vietnam just won the MB Vietnamese Cup and has notched wins over some of the world’s top players. International players often bring different stylistic approaches developed in different competitive environments, which can create matchup problems for American players accustomed to facing familiar opponents with similar training backgrounds.
Armaan Bhatia, the Indian star, recently signed with the PPA and has two gold medals in singles on the APP Tour this year. That APP success demonstrates his singles prowess, and the PPA signing indicates the tour’s confidence in his marketability and competitive potential.
Noe Khlif, originally from France though now US-based, has competed on the PPA Tour for over a year but still seeks his first singles medal. This tournament represents an opportunity to break through, and sometimes a change in format or venue provides the spark a talented player needs.
Other Notable Entrants
Donald Young brings a unique pedigree to professional pickleball. He started playing on the PPA Tour in early 2024 after a distinguished tennis career that saw him reach as high as eighth in the world in singles. His drive is considered one of the most powerful in pickleball, leveraging technique and power developed at tennis’s highest levels. He now lives in Georgia, giving him a hometown advantage at Peachtree Corners where he’s likely practiced and knows the court conditions.
John Lucian Goins, known as “Looch,” represents youth pushing into the elite ranks. The teenager has back-to-back PPA Tour wins this year and is establishing himself as a regular top-ten finisher. His youth could be an advantage in the endurance-testing format, as recovery between matches often comes easier to younger athletes.
Will Howells doesn’t play extensive singles but has an APP Tour win this year. The former Fighting Irish captain at Notre Dame brings elite athleticism that could produce upsets against higher-seeded opponents. Sometimes players without extensive singles records fly under the radar, allowing them to surprise opponents who underestimate their capabilities.
Alex Crum emerged on the singles scene earlier this year and has wins over top PPA Tour professionals. His rapid ascent suggests he’s figured something out technically or tactically, and players on upward trajectories can be particularly dangerous.
Grayson Goldin signed with the PPA Tour in mid-2025 and has APP Tour wins to his credit. He’s looking for his first significant run as a signed PPA player this year, and this tournament provides that platform.
