Haworth and Jansen Take Home $50k Each in the First Ever Life Time Open
The inaugural Life Time Open, held at Life Time Peachtree Corners, concluded with Chris Haworth and Lea Jansen each walking away $50,000 richer. This groundbreaking tournament represented a significant milestone in professional pickleball, showcasing Life Time’s continued commitment to investing in the sport’s growth and development. With an impressive total prize purse of $250,000, the event demonstrated that pickleball is rapidly evolving into a serious competitive sport with substantial financial rewards for elite athletes.
What made this tournament particularly noteworthy was not just the substantial prize money, but the innovative format that distinguished it from typical professional pickleball events. The Life Time Open challenged conventional tournament structures and brought together players from different tours, creating an exciting cross-pollination of talent that fans rarely get to witness in today’s fragmented professional pickleball landscape.
What Made This Tournament Different
The Life Time Open broke from traditional pickleball tournament conventions in several significant ways, creating a unique competitive environment that tested players in new and demanding ways. First and foremost, this was a pro singles only event, meaning there were no amateur players competing on side courts and no professional doubles brackets either. This singular focus on elite singles play allowed for a more streamlined and focused competition that highlighted individual talent and endurance.
The $250,000 prize pool deserves special attention because it represents real prize money up for grabs in an era when many PPA Tour players operate under guaranteed contracts. While guaranteed contracts provide financial stability for professional players, they can sometimes diminish the immediate stakes of individual tournaments. The Life Time Open changed that dynamic by putting substantial cash prizes on the line for each match, creating genuine financial incentives that added intensity to every point played.
The match format itself was particularly grueling and strategic. Each match was played as the best three out of five games, using side out scoring to 11 points, with the requirement to win by two. This format is significantly more demanding than the typical best two out of three format seen in most professional tournaments. As contestants advanced through the bracket and kept winning, they found themselves playing two matches per day, which placed enormous physical and mental demands on the athletes. The cumulative effect of this schedule meant that fitness, recovery, and pacing became crucial strategic considerations alongside pure pickleball skill.
Perhaps most importantly for the pickleball community, all professional players were welcome to participate regardless of tour affiliation. APP Tour players, PPA Tour players, and even international players were able to register for this tournament. This open invitation created a rare and valuable opportunity for players on different tours to compete directly against one another, something that has become increasingly uncommon as professional pickleball has become more siloed and divided between competing organizations.
Lea Jansen’s Gutsy Championship Run
Lea Jansen’s path to the championship was a study in contrasts, starting smoothly before evolving into a genuine test of will and endurance. In the opening rounds, Jansen demonstrated her dominance with relative ease. She cruised through the Round of 32 and Round of 16, defeating her opponents by a combined score of 66-28 and winning all six games without dropping a single one. This strong start allowed her to conserve energy and build confidence heading into the more challenging later rounds.
In the quarterfinals, Jansen faced APP Tour player Bobbi Oshiro, who managed to take the second game off Lea, representing the first real resistance Jansen had encountered in the tournament. However, Jansen’s experience and skill proved too much, and she was able to close out the match despite dropping that game. In retrospect, this relatively smooth path through the first three rounds proved fortunate, as Jansen would need every bit of saved energy for what was to come on Championship Sunday.
The semifinal match against Salome Devidze showcased the tournament’s demanding format at its most intense. While Jansen held a historical advantage over Devidze, having beaten her five times in their seven previous matchups, history meant little in the heat of this battle. The match became an absolute war of attrition, with neither player willing to concede ground. The five-game marathon went 11-7, 12-14, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, with momentum swinging dramatically throughout. Devidze demonstrated tremendous heart by fighting off game points in the second game to mount a comeback win in that frame, but Jansen’s mental toughness and physical conditioning ultimately prevailed.
The championship final presented yet another challenge, this time against Jansen’s Columbus Sliders teammate, Parris Todd. Todd arrived at the final having just survived her own five-game semifinal battle against Kaitlyn Christian, meaning both finalists were working with depleted energy reserves. The tactical nature of this match was evident in its pace and strategic elements. Both Parris and Lea played extremely deliberately, with multiple timeouts and challenges employed as each player sought any possible advantage. The four-game match actually consumed more clock time than Jansen’s five-game semifinal with Devidze, testament to the chess-like tactical battle unfolding on court.
Jansen ultimately secured the championship 13-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, claiming her first tournament victory since the 2024 CIBC Texas Open the previous June. The lengthy drought between championships made this victory particularly sweet, and the $50,000 prize certainly added to the satisfaction. For a professional athlete, going more than a year between tournament wins can create doubt and frustration, making this breakthrough performance all the more meaningful for Jansen’s confidence and career trajectory.
Chris Haworth’s Continued Ascent
Chris Haworth’s victory at the Life Time Open represented another chapter in one of pickleball’s most remarkable recent success stories. Just two months prior, in August, Haworth had been a 57 seed in a PPA Tour tournament, a ranking that hardly suggested championship potential at elite events. However, his recent trajectory has been nothing short of meteoric. Having just won the PPA Virginia Beach Cup before arriving at the Life Time Open, Haworth was riding momentum and confidence that proved unstoppable.
For the past year and a half, Haworth has been part of the conversation regarding the top five best men’s singles players in professional pickleball, but direct comparisons were difficult because he was not competing regularly on the PPA Tour. This absence from the tour’s main stage made it challenging to accurately assess his skills against the sport’s elite players on a consistent basis. Since signing exclusively with the PPA Tour in August, however, Haworth has removed all doubt about his abilities, positioning himself firmly within the top 10 seeds moving forward and continuing to climb the rankings.
Haworth’s path through the Life Time Open bracket demonstrated both his consistency and his ability to elevate his game against top competition. After dispatching John Cangelosi and Ronan Camron in straight games on Saturday, conserving energy by not dropping a single game, Haworth faced his stiffest test in the semifinals against the red-hot Donald Young. Young was playing inspired pickleball in his hometown of Atlanta, competing near his new pickleball facility with local pride on the line. The hometown crowd support and familiar surroundings added extra motivation for Young, who had already put together the best run of his pickleball career by taking down Will Howells and Connor Garnett to reach the semifinals.
Despite the emotional and competitive challenge Young presented, Haworth made surprisingly quick work of the semifinal, winning 11-6, 11-5, 11-9. The decisive nature of this victory showcased Haworth’s ability to maintain composure and execute his game plan even when facing a dangerous opponent playing with house money in front of a supportive crowd.
The championship final against Federico Staksrud provided a different kind of challenge. Haworth entered the match with a historical advantage in their head-to-head matchups, but Staksrud was not intimidated by past results. Haworth claimed the opening game, establishing early control, but then experienced his first adversity of the entire tournament. Staksrud fought back to win games two and three, representing the first game losses Haworth had suffered all weekend. This reversal could have created panic or doubt, but instead Haworth demonstrated championship mentality by regrouping and refocusing.
The turnaround in games four and five was stunning in its completeness. Haworth picked up momentum in game four and simply overwhelmed Staksrud from that point forward, winning 11-1, 11-1 in the final two games. This dominant finish showed not only Haworth’s skill but also his superior conditioning after three days of grueling competition. The back-to-back 11-1 games in a championship final speak to a level of physical and mental dominance that few players can sustain at that stage of a tournament.
Understanding the Significance for Casual Fans
If you’re new to pickleball or don’t follow the professional scene closely, you might be wondering why this particular tournament matters so much. Think of professional pickleball right now as being similar to professional boxing in some ways—there are different organizations and tours, and the best players don’t always compete against each other because they’re signed to different leagues. This situation has been frustrating for fans who want to see definitive answers about who the best players really are.
The Life Time Open was special because it brought players from these different tours together, allowing for direct comparisons that aren’t normally possible. It would be like if the best players from different basketball leagues all came together for one tournament to settle who’s really the best. The $250,000 prize pool is also significant because it represents serious money—enough that players were willing to push their bodies through an exhausting format of playing up to two best-of-five matches per day over three days.
To put the physical demands in perspective, players who reached Championship Sunday played well over 15 singles games across three days. In pickleball, singles is considerably more physically demanding than doubles because there’s no partner to cover half the court. Players must cover the entire court themselves, resulting in constant movement, lunging, and sprinting. Playing 15-plus games over three days is comparable to running several marathons—it’s an extraordinary test of fitness, recovery, and mental toughness.
The format itself was designed to identify not just the most skilled players but the most complete athletes. By requiring matches to be best three out of five games instead of the more common best two out of three, the tournament placed a premium on endurance and consistency. Players couldn’t rely on getting hot for two games and stealing a match—they had to prove they could maintain their level across five games if necessary, while managing their energy for potentially two matches that same day.
For Chris Haworth and Lea Jansen, winning $50,000 each is life-changing money that validates their dedication to the sport. While top tennis or golf professionals might earn that in a single tournament regularly, pickleball is still a young professional sport where such prize money is exceptional. These victories not only provide financial security but also establish both players as elite performers who can compete and win when the stakes and competition are at their highest levels.
The Dominance of PPA Tour Players
One of the most revealing storylines from the Life Time Open was the complete dominance of PPA Tour signed players in the later rounds. Despite the tournament being open to APP Tour players, international competitors, and unaffiliated professionals, all eight semifinalists came from the PPA Tour’s roster of signed players. This outcome speaks volumes about the depth of talent that the PPA Tour has assembled and the level of training and competition these players experience regularly.
Several strong players from outside the PPA Tour made respectable showings, with APP Tour standouts John Cangelosi, Bobbi Oshiro, Katerina Stewart, Will Howells, and Dusty Boyer all reaching the quarterfinals. These results demonstrate that talent exists across the professional pickleball landscape. However, when the competition intensified in the semifinals, the PPA Tour players’ experience and skill level proved decisive.
The women’s semifinals featured perfect chalk, with the top four seeds all advancing: Parris Todd, Lea Jansen, Kaitlyn Christian, and Salome Devidze. This result suggests that the seeding accurately reflected the competitive hierarchy and that the top players handled the pressure and format successfully. On the men’s side, the top three seeds—Federico Staksrud, Chris Haworth, and Connor Garnett—advanced to the semifinals along with 14th-seeded Donald Young, whose inspired run added an element of surprise and local interest.
While the semifinals and finals ultimately featured only PPA Tour contracted players, the cross-tour competition in earlier rounds provided valuable entertainment and created compelling storylines. The ability to watch players from different tours compete directly against one another doesn’t happen frequently in modern professional pickleball, making these matchups special for fans seeking answers about relative skill levels across organizations. The hope for future iterations of this tournament is that it maintains this open format, continuing to provide these rare cross-tour competitive opportunities.
Areas for Improvement in Future Life Time Opens
As with any inaugural event, the first Life Time Open had some operational and organizational elements that could be refined for future editions. These growing pains are entirely normal and expected, but identifying and addressing them will be crucial for the tournament’s long-term success and growth. Overall, the fundamental concept of the tournament is sound and exciting—Life Time’s investment in pickleball growth is commendable, and having Andre Agassi present on Championship Sunday added star power and legitimacy to the proceedings.
One of the most pressing questions for tournament organizers is how to attract more of the world’s absolute best players to participate. The women’s bracket had only 42 total entrants despite being prepared to accommodate at least 64 players. This significant gap represents missed competitive opportunities and suggests that something about the tournament’s positioning isn’t appealing to enough top players. Even some qualifier brackets featured players with DUPR ratings starting with a four, which is lower than what you’d expect for a premier professional event.
Several factors could be contributing to the lower-than-desired participation rates. Tournament timing in the professional calendar is crucial—if the Life Time Open conflicts with other major events or falls during a period when players are fatigued or injured, participation will suffer. The distribution of prize money might also need reconsideration. While the total purse of $250,000 is substantial, perhaps the way it’s allocated across different finishing positions doesn’t provide sufficient incentive for players who believe they might not win the championship. Some players might calculate that the physical toll of the best-of-five format throughout isn’t worth the risk if they’re likely to exit in early rounds with minimal prize money.
The tournament format itself deserves examination. While the concept of playing best three out of five in every round creates a legitimate physical battle and tests player conditioning, it may be overly demanding, especially in early rounds. By the time players reached Championship Sunday, they had competed in well over 15 singles games across three days. This extreme physical demand could be discouraging participation from players who are managing injuries or who have concerns about overuse and long-term health. Tournament organizers might consider whether the first two rounds could be contested as best two out of three, with best three out of five reserved for quarterfinals onward. This modification would preserve the physical challenge while reducing the cumulative toll, potentially making the event more appealing to a broader range of top players.
Marketing and communication represented another area where improvements would enhance the fan experience significantly. Even dedicated pickleball media members reported having difficulty remembering where each day’s action was being streamed, which suggests that casual fans likely struggled even more. There was a notable absence of social media posts clearly communicating the order of play each day, leaving fans confused about when their favorite players would compete. The tournament also lacked an attractive, easy-to-follow bracket graphic that fans could reference to track results and upcoming matches. This forced followers to check pickleballtournaments.com repeatedly to stay current with results, creating unnecessary friction in the fan experience.
Fan attendance at the venue itself was disappointingly low, representing one of the smallest crowds seen on tour throughout the year. While Championship Sunday did contend with some weather challenges, the consistently small crowds throughout the weekend suggest deeper issues with fan engagement and awareness. How does the tournament attract more spectators to the venue? This question encompasses marketing, ticket pricing, venue atmosphere, ancillary entertainment, and community outreach. Without strong in-person attendance, the event loses energy and atmosphere, which in turn affects the broadcast experience and overall perception of the tournament’s importance.
Despite these areas needing attention, the fundamental vision of the Life Time Open remains strong and promising. If the operational aspects are refined and improved for next year—better communication, stronger player field, enhanced fan engagement, and possible format adjustments—this tournament has the potential to become a fixture on the professional pickleball calendar. Life Time’s commitment to the sport is genuine and substantial, and with
