Hayden and Anna Take Down the #1 Seed – PPA Mesa Cup Recap

The Carvana Mesa Cup delivered one of the most memorable upsets in recent professional pickleball history. After 321 days of dominance, the seemingly unbeatable duo of Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns finally met their match. The tournament showcased everything that makes professional pickleball compelling: dramatic upsets, dominant performances, and breakthrough moments that will reshape the conversation about who truly sits atop the sport.

The event itself provided ideal conditions for championship-level play. While wind challenged players throughout the week, temperatures ranging from the upper sixties to low eighties by Championship Sunday created nearly perfect pickleball weather. This is exactly why the PPA Tour strategically schedules Arizona stops in February, offering players and fans alike a respite from winter while delivering elite competition. The crowds reflected the quality of play, with standing room only from Thursday through the weekend finals.

The Upset That Shook Professional Pickleball

Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin’s victory over Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns in the mixed doubles finals represented more than just another tournament win. It marked the end of an extraordinary streak and demonstrated that even the most dominant partnerships can be challenged when opponents bring the right combination of skill, strategy, and determination.

The statistics leading into this matchup told a story of complete dominance by Waters and Johns. In their previous six encounters with Bright and Patriquin, every single match went the full distance—four semifinals extending to three games and both finals reaching five games. Despite these competitive battles, Waters and Johns had won every time. The pattern seemed unbreakable, suggesting that while Bright and Patriquin could push the top seeds, they couldn’t quite finish the job.

The Mesa Cup finals shattered that narrative completely. Bright and Patriquin won decisively in three games with scorelines of 11-8, 11-9, 11-3. The third game particularly demonstrated their dominance, as Waters and Johns managed only three points while appearing visibly out of sync. From the opening points to the final victorious shot, Bright and Patriquin played at an exceptionally high level, executing their game plan with precision and maintaining composure under immense pressure.

This victory held special significance for Anna Bright, who became only the fourth player to defeat the Waters-Johns partnership, and remarkably, she accomplished this feat with four different partners. Her previous victories came with James Ignatowich at the 2023 PPA Tours Finals Group Stage (11-8, 11-8), with Andrei Daescu at the 2024 Austin Open Finals (11-3, 11-9, 11-3), and with Dekel Bar at the 2025 Mesa Cup Semifinals (12-10, 7-11, 11-9). Each partnership brought different strengths, but Bright’s consistent ability to elevate her game against the sport’s best team speaks volumes about her mental toughness and tactical versatility.

The 321-day winning streak that ended in Mesa dated back to April 6, 2025, when Waters and Johns last lost to Jorja and JW Johnson at the PPA North Carolina Open. During those ten-plus months, they had appeared virtually unbeatable, winning tournament after tournament and frequently dominating opponents by wide margins. The streak’s end doesn’t diminish their accomplishments but rather adds drama to the ongoing narrative of professional pickleball’s competitive evolution.

Anna Leigh Waters Bounces Back With Double Gold

Championship Sunday tested Anna Leigh Waters’ mental fortitude in ways few tournament days ever have. Starting the day with a loss in mixed doubles finals could have derailed many athletes, but Waters demonstrated the champion’s mentality that has defined her young career. Rather than dwelling on the defeat, she refocused and delivered two gold medal performances in women’s doubles and singles.

In women’s doubles, Waters partnered with Anna Bright—the same player who had just defeated her in mixed—to face Jorja Johnson and Hurricane Tyra Black in the finals. The partnership between the two Annas proved utterly dominant throughout the tournament, and the finals provided no exception. They won 11-1, 13-11, 11-7, with the first game serving as a statement of intent and the close second game demonstrating their ability to win tight situations.

The statistical dominance of Bright and Waters in women’s doubles borders on absurd. Their combined score throughout the Mesa Cup was 101-27, averaging 11.2-2 per game. They even delivered a double pickle—winning consecutive games 11-0—against Tina Pisnik and Lacy Schneemann in the semifinals. This level of dominance suggests that when these two players team up, the gap between them and the rest of the field remains substantial.

Waters’ singles performance proved equally impressive. Across five matches, she accumulated a combined score of 110-21, averaging 11-2.1 points per game. Both Kiora Kunimoto and Zoey Wang managed to score four points in a game against her, which tied for the most points Waters surrendered in any single game during the tournament. In the finals against Kate Fahey, Waters closed out the event with an 11-3, 11-1 victory that left no doubt about who controls women’s singles at the highest level.

The ability to compartmentalize the mixed doubles loss and deliver two dominant gold medal performances on the same day reveals the psychological makeup that separates good players from great ones. Waters has built her career on this kind of mental resilience, and Championship Sunday in Mesa added another chapter to that story.

Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio Continue Men’s Doubles Dominance

While Ben Johns experienced a rare loss in mixed doubles, his men’s doubles partnership with Gabe Tardio continues to operate at a different level from the competition. Their Mesa Cup gold medal extended an impressive winning streak that has positioned them as the clear favorites in every tournament they enter.

The duo’s recent tournament results tell the story: gold at Lakeland, gold at Masters, gold at Cape Coral, and now gold at Mesa. Their only loss in recent memory came at Worlds to Hayden Patriquin and Christian Alshon, but since that defeat, they haven’t dropped a match. This consistency demonstrates not just superior skill but also the kind of partnership chemistry that takes time to develop and proves difficult for opponents to disrupt.

The Mesa Cup did provide one nervous moment for Johns and Tardio. In the Round of 16, Jonathan Truong and Wyatt Stone pushed them to tight scorelines before Johns and Tardio gutted out a 12-10, 11-9 victory. These competitive matches serve as valuable tests, forcing the top team to problem-solve under pressure and maintain focus when opponents play their best pickleball.

The finals pitted Johns and Tardio against Patriquin and Alshon in a rematch of their Worlds encounter. This time, Johns and Tardio came out on the wrong end of the first game, losing 8-11. However, they adjusted their strategy and elevated their energy level, winning the next three games 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 to claim the championship. The ability to lose a game and then dominate the next, followed by closing out a tight fourth game, demonstrates the complete skill set required for championship-level men’s doubles.

The question emerging from the men’s doubles landscape is whether we should still discuss “the big four” or if it’s more accurately “Johns and Tardio, and then everyone else.” While Patriquin-Alshon and other top teams remain competitive and capable of winning tournaments, the consistency Johns and Tardio have displayed suggests a growing gap between them and their closest competitors.

Chris Haworth’s Singles Breakthrough

Chris Haworth’s gold medal in men’s singles at Mesa represents the continued rise of a player who has steadily climbed the rankings through consistent performance and strategic improvement. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy now sits as the third-ranked men’s singles player on the PPA Tour, trailing only Hunter Johnson and Federico Staksrud.

Haworth’s path to the finals tested him against quality competition at every stage. He defeated Jace Morris, Spartak Rahachou, Jay Devilliers, John Lucian Goins, and Matt Barlow to reach Championship Sunday. Each match required different tactical adjustments, and Haworth demonstrated the versatility to handle varied playing styles and competitive pressures.

The finals matchup against Ben Johns held particular intrigue because Johns had barely played singles recently. His last singles appearance came at Worlds, where he lost to Alex Crum in the Round of 32—a surprising early exit for someone of Johns’ caliber. The layoff from singles competition may have contributed to rust, or perhaps Haworth simply played at a level that would have defeated anyone that day.

Haworth won 11-6, 11-6, never dropping a game throughout the entire Mesa tournament. His net presence proved particularly effective, combining aggressive positioning with precise volleys that forced opponents into difficult passing shot attempts. His groundstrokes showed improved precision compared to earlier in his career, allowing him to control points from the baseline when needed while maintaining his preference for finishing at the net.

The rankings chase adds another layer to Haworth’s story. Because he signed with the PPA in the second half of the 2025 season, he continues accumulating points while top-ranked players like Federico Staksrud and Hunter Johnson focus on maintaining their totals rather than adding new points. This dynamic creates interesting tournament-to-tournament shifts in the rankings as Haworth builds his resume with each strong performance.

Matt Barlow’s Cinderella Run

Every tournament produces unexpected breakthrough performances, and Matt Barlow’s semifinal run from the qualifier bracket provided Mesa Cup’s feel-good story. The Omaha native isn’t signed to the UPA, meaning he had to earn his way into the main draw through qualifying matches—a path that makes deep tournament runs all the more impressive.

Barlow dispatched his qualifier opponents with ruthless efficiency, winning three matches and pickling opponents in two games. This dominant qualifying performance hinted at the form that would carry him deep into the main draw, though few could have predicted just how far he would go.

In the main draw, Barlow’s victories grew increasingly impressive. He beat Wil Shaffer 11-2, 11-9 in the Round of 128, then upset sixth-seeded Roscoe Bellamy 9-11, 11-9, 11-2 in the Round of 64. The comeback victory against Bellamy demonstrated mental toughness, as Barlow could have easily lost confidence after dropping the first game but instead raised his level to win two straight.

Barlow continued his run with a 7-11, 11-9, 11-4 victory over Mota Alhouni in the Round of 32, another come-from-behind win that showcased his ability to adjust tactics mid-match. He then dominated Matt Burkhardt, a lucky loser, 11-4, 11-1 in the Round of 16 to set up a quarterfinal showdown with top-seeded Hunter Johnson.

The quarterfinal against Johnson represented Barlow’s opportunity to announce himself as a legitimate contender rather than just a hot player enjoying a good week. He seized that opportunity with an 11-9, 3-11, 11-5 victory that sent shockwaves through the tournament. Defeating the number one seed when you entered through qualifiers represents the kind of David versus Goliath story that sports fans cherish.

Barlow’s run ended in the semifinals against Chris Haworth, and he also lost the bronze medal match to Christian Alshon. However, his performance—beating two top-ten players in the world after coming through qualifiers—established him as a player to watch in future tournaments. Stories like Barlow’s remind us that the qualifier brackets contain talented players capable of defeating anyone on a given day when everything clicks.

Understanding the Significance for Pickleball Newcomers

If you’re relatively new to following professional pickleball, the Mesa Cup results might seem like just another tournament with winners and losers. However, understanding the context helps reveal why this event mattered so much to the sport’s competitive landscape.

Professional pickleball operates similarly to tennis, with players competing in multiple disciplines: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. The sport’s unique format allows for incredible versatility, where the same players might face each other as opponents in one event and partners in another. This creates complex dynamics and storylines that develop over seasons rather than single tournaments.

The Waters-Johns partnership in mixed doubles had achieved a level of dominance rarely seen in any sport. When a team goes nearly a year without losing, they move beyond simple success into the realm of dynasty. Their defeat at Mesa matters not because they’re no longer elite—they clearly remain among the sport’s best—but because it demonstrates that sustained dominance creates targets that eventually get hit.

The tournament format itself deserves explanation. Players compete through bracket-style elimination, with early rounds consisting of single games to 11 points (win by two) and later rounds extending to best-of-three or best-of-five formats. This structure means that a single bad game can eliminate you early, while championship matches require sustained excellence over multiple games.

The qualifier system that Matt Barlow navigated represents an important pathway for players without guaranteed main draw entry. These qualifying rounds typically happen before the main tournament begins, with successful qualifiers earning spots alongside seeded players. Making a deep run from the qualifiers requires playing significantly more matches than seeded players, making Barlow’s semifinal appearance all the more impressive from a stamina and focus perspective.

Rankings in professional pickleball function through point accumulation systems, where tournament results add or maintain points that determine seeding for future events. This creates strategic considerations about which tournaments to enter and how to manage peak performance across a long season. The fact that Haworth continues adding points while top players maintain their totals illustrates how timing of signing with tours can impact rankings chase dynamics.

The Mesa Cup also highlights pickleball’s rapid growth in popularity and professionalism. The standing-room-only crowds from Thursday through Sunday demonstrate that this is no longer a niche sport but rather a rapidly growing entertainment product with passionate fans. The professional pickleball tour circuit now attracts serious athletes, substantial prize money, and media attention that rivals more established racquet sports.

Looking Ahead

The Mesa Cup results reshape several ongoing narratives in professional pickleball. The Waters-Johns mixed doubles loss opens questions about whether their dominance has truly ended or if this represents a brief interruption before they reassert control. Their immediate response to this defeat will tell us much about their championship mentality and ability to adjust when opponents solve their game.

For Bright and Patriquin, the victory validates their partnership and confirms that they possess the skills to defeat anyone on their best day. The challenge now becomes consistency—can they replicate this performance in future meetings with Waters and Johns, or will this remain an outlier result? Their immediate tournament performances following Mesa will help answer that question.

The Johns-Tardio men’s doubles partnership continues setting the standard for excellence in that discipline. Their consistency across multiple tournaments suggests they’ve reached a level of chemistry and tactical understanding that will take exceptional performances to defeat. Other top teams must either raise their games significantly or hope that fatigue or off-days create opportunities for upsets.

Haworth’s singles dominance at Mesa positions him as a legitimate contender for the top ranking if he maintains this level of play. His complete performance—winning without dropping a game against quality opposition including Ben Johns—demonstrates that his game contains no obvious weaknesses for opponents to exploit. The rankings chase becomes increasingly interesting as he continues accumulating points while top players defend their positions.

Barlow’s breakthrough suggests that the qualifier system works as intended, providing pathways for talented players to prove themselves against elite competition. His deep run should inspire other players working their way up through the ranks, demonstrating that the gap between qualifiers and top seeds isn’t insurmountable when you bring your best pickleball.

The Mesa Cup reinforced that professional pickleball has entered an era of intense competition where no outcome can be assumed and every tournament provides dramatic storylines. The combination of established stars, rising contenders, and breakthrough performers creates an environment where fans never know what to expect—and that unpredictability makes the sport increasingly compelling to watch and follow.

Final Medal Results

The complete championship results from the Mesa Cup showcase the diversity of talent across professional pickleball:

Women’s Singles: Anna Leigh Waters captured gold with dominant performances throughout, Kate Fahey earned silver in the