The PPA Masters 2026 Tournament Preview
The professional pickleball season kicks off with one of its most prestigious events as the PPA Tour returns to the stunning Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The Carvana Masters Powered by Invited represents more than just the first tournament of 2026—it signals the beginning of what promises to be an extraordinary year for competitive pickleball. This Slam level event carries significant weight in the professional rankings, offering 2,000 PPA Tour Points to the champions of each discipline, making it one of the highest stakes competitions on the entire tour schedule.
What sets the Masters apart from other tournaments isn’t just the point allocation or the early season timing. There’s an undeniable elegance to this event that players and fans alike have grown to cherish. The venue itself provides a breathtaking backdrop for world-class competition, while the tournament’s signature all-white dress code adds a layer of sophistication reminiscent of tennis’s most hallowed grounds. This combination of elite competition and refined presentation has solidified the Masters as a fan and player favorite, earning its reputation as one of the most coveted titles on tour.
How to Watch Every Moment of Championship Action
The tournament organizers have ensured comprehensive coverage throughout the week-long competition, with matches available across multiple platforms to accommodate pickleball enthusiasts regardless of their viewing preferences. The tournament begins on Tuesday, January 13 with early round play on both the Championship Court and Grandstand Court, with continuous coverage from 1pm to 9pm Eastern Time on pickleballtv. This streaming platform has become the go-to destination for dedicated pickleball fans who want to follow every serve, dink, and erne throughout the competition.
As the tournament progresses through Wednesday and Thursday, the same extensive coverage continues on pickleballtv, but Thursday marks an important shift in broadcasting as Fox Sports joins the coverage. From Thursday through Friday’s quarterfinals, FS2 will broadcast Championship Court action from 7pm to 9pm Eastern Time, bringing professional pickleball to a broader audience through traditional cable and satellite television platforms. This expanded coverage reflects the sport’s growing mainstream appeal and provides casual sports fans an opportunity to discover the excitement of professional pickleball.
The weekend brings the tournament to its crescendo with Saturday’s semifinals receiving prime coverage on FS1 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm Eastern Time. Then Sunday delivers what might be the most significant broadcasting achievement for professional pickleball to date—Championship Sunday kicks off at noon Eastern Time on CBS, marking a major milestone for the sport’s visibility on one of America’s most-watched networks. After the CBS window concludes at 2pm, coverage shifts to FS2 through 6pm for the remaining championship matches, while bronze medal matches will be available on pickleballtv. The day concludes with a championship replay on FS1 at 7pm for those who missed the live action.
Perfect California Weather Sets the Stage
Mother Nature appears ready to cooperate fully with the tournament schedule, as Rancho Mirage is forecast to deliver what many would consider ideal pickleball conditions throughout the week. Morning temperatures are expected to settle in the upper 50s, providing a crisp start to each day before warming to comfortable highs in the low 80s during peak playing hours. These conditions eliminate weather as a variable, allowing players to focus entirely on strategy and execution rather than battling extreme heat or unexpected cold snaps.
This consistent, comfortable weather is one of several reasons why the Masters has become such an important fixture on the early season calendar. Players arrive in Southern California after the holiday break, and these perfect conditions allow them to showcase their off-season improvements without environmental obstacles. The reliable forecast also means tournament organizers can maintain the published schedule without weather delays, ensuring fans who made travel plans can see their favorite players compete as promised.
Can Anna Leigh Waters Continue Her Unprecedented Dominance?
The most compelling storyline entering the tournament centers on Anna Leigh Waters and her pursuit of a fifth consecutive triple crown at the Masters. To put this achievement in perspective, Waters has now won all three events—singles, doubles, and mixed doubles—at the last four Masters tournaments she’s entered. This level of dominance across multiple disciplines is virtually unprecedented in professional pickleball, and the pressure to maintain such a streak only intensifies with each passing tournament.
The statistics surrounding Waters’ 2025 season border on the unbelievable. Over the entire year, she lost a total of six matches. Just six losses across dozens of matches in three different events—two defeats came in mixed doubles while partnering with Ben Johns, and four occurred in women’s doubles. Even more remarkably, Waters hasn’t experienced a singles loss in well over 100 days heading into the Masters, and if she wins the singles title here, she’ll extend her singles winning streak beyond 600 consecutive days without a defeat. These aren’t just impressive numbers—they represent a level of consistent excellence rarely seen in any sport at any level.
The question isn’t whether Waters is the favorite—she clearly dominates the conversation in every event she enters. Rather, the intrigue lies in whether the field has developed strategies during the off-season to finally crack the code on her seemingly impenetrable game. Players like Kate Fahey, Kaitlyn Christian, Brooke Buckner, and Catherine Parenteau Jansen have been studying her patterns, working on their own games, and presumably devising specific tactical approaches to end these historic winning streaks. The Masters will reveal whether any of these efforts prove successful or if Waters simply continues her march through the record books.
Major Paddle Changes Could Shake Up the Competition
The 2026 season brings significant equipment changes that could impact tournament results in ways both subtle and dramatic. The most high-profile paddle switch involves Waters herself, who has moved from Paddletek to Franklin after her previous contract expired. This transition means Waters will be competing with different equipment characteristics—different weight distribution, different sweet spot geometry, different surface texture—all variables that could theoretically affect her performance, though few expect this to significantly slow her dominance.
Other notable paddle changes include Chris Haworth’s departure from Babolat to join Luzz, a move announced just before the tournament began. Rachel Rohrabacher has also made a significant switch, leaving the established Selkirk brand for the newer Friday paddles. For those interested in tracking all the professional paddle sponsorship changes for 2026, comprehensive coverage is available in this detailed article documenting the musical chairs of equipment deals that occurred during the off-season.
These paddle changes raise interesting questions beyond just performance specifications. Waters has yet to announce an apparel sponsor for the Masters, leaving speculation about whether she’ll unveil a major partnership during the tournament. Additionally, Luzz’s recent signings suggest they’re making a concerted push to establish themselves among the elite paddle brands, leading to speculation about whether other big-name players might join their roster. The intersection of equipment, sponsorship, and competitive advantage creates a fascinating subplot throughout the tournament.
Will Howells Makes His Official PPA Tour Debut
While technically Will Howells has appeared in six PPA Tour events spanning from late 2023 through mid-2024, the Masters marks his first tournament as an exclusively signed PPA Tour player, representing a significant commitment to the tour after previously splitting time between competing organizations. Howells has built his reputation primarily through Major League Pickleball, where his performances with the 5s have showcased his considerable talent and competitive fire, making him one of the most exciting young players in professional pickleball.
However, Howells enters the Masters with a significant handicap—he currently possesses zero PPA Tour Points, meaning he lacks the seeding protection that established tour players enjoy. This technical disadvantage hasn’t prevented him from securing partnerships with top-tier talent, as he’ll be competing with Rachel Rohrabacher in mixed doubles and his 5s teammate Noe Khlif in men’s doubles throughout the foreseeable future. These partnerships demonstrate the respect Howells has earned from his peers despite his limited PPA Tour resume, and they give him legitimate chances to make deep runs in multiple events.
The question surrounding Howells isn’t about his talent—everyone who follows professional pickleball recognizes his abilities. Rather, the intrigue centers on how quickly he can accumulate the ranking points and tour experience necessary to compete consistently with the established hierarchy. The Masters provides an excellent opportunity to make an immediate statement, and strong performances here could accelerate his rise up the rankings far faster than a gradual accumulation over several smaller tournaments.
The Big Four Becomes Something Different in Men’s Doubles
The 2025 men’s doubles landscape was largely defined by what insiders termed “the big four” partnerships—four tandems that consistently reached semifinals and finals, creating a predictable yet competitive hierarchy at the top of the event. These partnerships included Gabe Tardio with Ben Johns, Christian Alshon with Andrei Daescu, Federico Staksrud with Hayden Patriquin, and CJ Klinger with JW Johnson. These pairings dominated tournament after tournament, with rare exceptions when one team would falter before the final rounds.
For the Masters and at least the first half of the 2026 season, a significant reconfiguration disrupts this established order. Alshon and Staksrud are swapping partners, with Alshon now playing alongside Patriquin while Staksrud joins forces with Daescu. This reshuffling creates two new partnerships from the remnants of two successful ones, essentially redistributing the talent rather than introducing new players to the elite level.
The practical impact of these changes remains uncertain. All four players bring elite-level skills to the court, and the chemistry between Alshon-Daescu and Staksrud-Patriquin proved formidable throughout 2025. Now Alshon-Patriquin and Staksrud-Daescu need to develop similar chemistry and strategic understanding, though the transition might be smoother than expected given their shared experience competing against each other at the highest level. Interestingly, there’s legitimate speculation that these partnerships might revert to their 2025 configurations after the MLP season concludes in summer 2026, suggesting this change might be more experimental than permanent.
Parris Todd’s Suspension Creates Ripple Effects
One of the more significant storylines heading into the Masters involves who won’t be competing rather than who will. Parris Todd received a suspension covering one PPA Tour event, one MLP event, and a $50,000 fine for her participation in an overseas trip to Japan with other players that apparently violated league rules or conduct policies. Todd’s absence carries considerable competitive implications given her strong rankings—10th in women’s mixed doubles, sixth in women’s doubles, and fifth in singles heading into the tournament.
The suspension will almost certainly drop Todd out of the top 10 in women’s mixed doubles, as competing players accumulate points while she remains sidelined. Beyond Todd’s personal ranking consequences, her absence forced partnership changes that affect other competitors. Meghan Dizon, who regularly competed with Todd, has picked up Alix Truong as her partner for the Masters. Similarly, Dekel Bar needed to find a new partner and will be playing with Jackie Kawamoto. These forced partnership adjustments create uncertainty and potentially disadvantage players who had established chemistry and strategic systems with Todd.
Women’s Singles: Can Anyone Challenge Waters?
The women’s singles draw presents the most lopsided competition on paper, with Waters entering as the overwhelming favorite given her 592-day winning streak in the discipline. If she claims the Masters title, she’ll push that streak beyond 600 days—a milestone that seems almost impossible to comprehend in a competitive professional sport. The gulf between Waters and the rest of the field has grown so large that the conversation has shifted from whether she’ll win to whether anyone can even take a game off her in a match.
That said, the pursuit remains worthwhile for her competitors. Fahey, Christian, Buckner, and Jansen all represent the next tier of women’s singles players, and each possesses specific weapons that could theoretically trouble Waters if everything aligns perfectly. Fahey brings exceptional court coverage and consistency, Christian offers power and aggressive returning, Buckner showcases versatility and shot-making creativity, while Jansen combines all-around skills with competitive determination. Getting a win over Waters would provide tremendous confidence and momentum for any of these players heading into the rest of the 2026 season.
Among the lower seeds, Jamie Wei stands out as a player capable of making an unexpected run, though her path would likely require victories over both Judit Castillo and Genie Bouchard—two formidable opponents in their own right. Wei possesses the game to threaten higher seeds if she finds her rhythm, though the tournament format’s unforgiving nature means one bad match ends any Cinderella aspirations immediately.
Predictions for women’s singles semifinalists include Waters as the top seed, Kaitlyn Christian at three, Kate Fahey at two, and Brooke Buckner at four. The projected finals features Waters defeating Fahey in three games, extending her remarkable winning streak and claiming her fifth consecutive Masters singles title.
Men’s Singles: Wide Open Competition
If women’s singles appears predictable, men’s singles represents the opposite extreme—a wide-open field where recent history suggests almost anyone in the top tier could emerge victorious. The 2025 season demonstrated this parity dramatically, with eight different winners across the last 20 men’s singles events. This level of competitive balance creates excitement for fans but frustration for players seeking consistent results, as the margins between winning and early exits remain razor-thin.
Hunter Johnson enters as the number one seed, but that designation carries an asterisk given he hasn’t won a singles title in over six months. This extended drought doesn’t necessarily indicate declining skills—the competitive depth in men’s singles makes winning incredibly difficult—but it does suggest Johnson might be vulnerable to an upset earlier than a top seed typically would be. The pressure of defending a high seeding without recent validation through tournament victories creates an interesting psychological dynamic.
Chris Haworth represents perhaps the hottest player in the field, having climbed 51 spots in the seeding over the past six months through consistently strong performances. Haworth has publicly stated his ambition to claim the overall number one seed in 2026, and a strong showing at the Masters would provide significant momentum toward that goal. His aggressive style and improved consistency make him a legitimate threat to win the entire event.
Notably absent from the singles draw is Ben Johns, who has chosen not to compete in singles at the Masters. Johns’ decision reflects the growing specialization in professional pickleball, as top players increasingly focus on doubles disciplines where partnership dynamics and strategic complexity offer different competitive challenges compared to singles play.
The predicted men’s singles semifinalists include Gabe Joseph at eight, Chris Haworth at six, Jack Sock at seven, and Roscoe Bellamy at nine—a grouping that notably excludes all four top seeds, reflecting the unpredictable nature of this event. The projected finals features Haworth defeating Bellamy in two closely contested games, though handicapping men’s singles remains notoriously difficult given the depth of talent.
Mixed Doubles: Johns and Waters Extend Their Streak?
The mixed doubles draw features one of professional pickleball’s most dominant partnerships at the top, as Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns haven’t experienced defeat since April 2025. If they successfully navigate the Masters draw and claim the title, they’ll extend their winning streak beyond 300 consecutive days—a testament to their complementary skills, strategic understanding, and competitive consistency. Johns’ court awareness and soft game combine perfectly with Waters’ power and speed, creating a partnership that opponents struggle to break down.
Despite this dominance, the top four seeds all possess the talent and partnership chemistry to potentially reach the semifinals, creating what should be compelling late-round matches. Federico Staksrud has partnered with Kate Fahey for the Masters and early 2026, forming an intriguing combination of Staksrud’s power and Fahey’s consistency. Anna Bright will split her time between Hayden Patriquin and Andrei Daescu for American tournaments, giving her two elite partnership options depending on scheduling and strategic preferences.
In his debut tournament as an exclusive PPA Tour player, Will Howells and Rachel Rohrabacher draw a particularly interesting potential matchup in the Round of 32 against Howells’ MLP 5s teammate Meghan Dizon. This scenario would pit teammates against each other in a meaningful tournament match, creating a fascinating competitive dynamic where personal relationships intersect with professional ambitions.
Predicted semifinalists include Waters and Johns at one, Hurricane Tyra Black and Christian Alshon at four, Jorja and JW Johnson at seven, and Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin at three
