Stunning Upsets and Big Moments from the 2026 PPA Las Vegas Open
The Rate Las Vegas Open wrapped up last Sunday at the Darling Tennis Center, and if you were watching, you already know it delivered. Hunter Johnson dismantled Ben Johns in one of the most lopsided men’s singles finals in recent memory, Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu got the revenge they’d been waiting a full year for, and Anna Bright capped off an incredible weekend by walking away as the only double-gold winner of the tournament. There was a lot to unpack, so let’s get into it.
What Happened at the PPA Las Vegas Open? (A Quick Explainer for New Fans)
If you’re newer to professional pickleball, here’s the short version: the PPA Tour — that stands for Professional Pickleball Association — is one of the top pro pickleball circuits in the United States. Players compete in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Tournaments are seeded, meaning the top-ranked players get favorable positioning in the bracket, and upsets — when a lower-ranked player beats a higher-ranked one — are always a big deal. The Las Vegas Open is one of the more prestigious stops on the tour, held at the Darling Tennis Center. Think of it like a major tournament in tennis, but for pickleball. Now that you’ve got that context, here’s what made this particular event so memorable.
Hunter Johnson Dominates Ben Johns in the Men’s Singles Final
Let’s start with the result everyone is still talking about. Hunter Johnson defeated Ben Johns to claim the men’s singles title, and while Johnson beating Johns isn’t necessarily a massive shock on paper, the scoreline absolutely was. Johnson won 11-1, 11-3 in what turned out to be one of the most one-sided championship matches the PPA Tour has seen in a long time. It was clinical, dominant, and frankly a little stunning to watch unfold.
Johns had actually put together a solid run to reach Championship Sunday. As the No. 19 seed, he knocked out fourth-seeded Christian Alshon in the quarterfinals in a comeback win, then got past John Lucian Goins in the semis. That’s a respectable bracket run by any measure. But when he met Johnson, who came in as the No. 3 seed and had already taken care of Roscoe Bellamy and Federico Staksrud on his side of the draw, there was simply no answer. Johnson played nearly flawless pickleball in the final, and the scoreline showed it.
For Johns, a silver medal is still something, especially given where his singles form has been lately. But if there were any remaining questions about Johnson’s place among the elite men’s singles players in the game right now, this performance did a lot to settle them. According to The Dink, Johnson’s performance was among the most dominant championship showings of the weekend.
Alshon and Daescu Finally Get Their Revenge in Men’s Doubles
This one had a storyline built in long before a single ball was struck. One year ago at the same venue, Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu lost a heartbreaking five-game men’s doubles final to Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio. That match ran two hours and 28 minutes, with Johns and Tardio eventually winning 12-10 in the fifth to claim what was, at the time, the longest match in PPA Tour history. It was the kind of loss that sticks with you.
Fast forward to 2026, same venue, same opponents in the final. This time it wasn’t close. Alshon and Daescu won 11-6, 11-8 in a performance that felt controlled and purposeful from start to finish. They came into Championship Sunday off a strong semifinal win over Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud, and they carried that momentum straight through the final.
What makes this win even more significant is the context around the team’s recent form. Just two weeks earlier at the Arizona Open, Alshon and Daescu saved six championship points to claim the title over Nico Acevedo and Yuta Funemizu. That means they’ve now won back-to-back men’s doubles titles to open the new PPA season. At this point, it’s becoming hard to argue with the idea that they’re the hottest men’s doubles team on tour right now. You can follow the latest PPA rankings to see how their results are affecting their position in the standings.
Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin Hand Johns and Waters a Rare Loss in Mixed Doubles
Beating Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters in mixed doubles is about as hard as it gets in professional pickleball. They are the gold standard of mixed doubles partnerships, and losses for them at this level are genuinely rare. So when Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin walked off the court with a straight-games victory — 11-9, 11-7 — it was a real statement result.
Bright and Patriquin came in as the No. 2 seeds, so the match wasn’t exactly a massive upset on paper, but the execution and the manner of the win were impressive. They didn’t panic, they didn’t need a third game, and they beat the best mixed doubles team in the world cleanly. Their path to the final included a bit of adversity — they dropped the first game of their semifinal against Christian Alshon and Tina Pisnik before recovering to win 7-11, 11-5, 11-8 — but against Johns and Waters they showed no such vulnerability.
The loss also had a secondary effect: it prevented Anna Leigh Waters from reaching 200 career PPA Tour titles in Las Vegas. Waters had entered the tournament just two titles shy of that historic milestone. She’ll now have to wait until at least the Chicago Cup to get there. The broader question this result raises is an interesting one heading into the rest of the season — are Bright and Patriquin now a consistent threat to dethrone Johns and Waters, or was this a great day from a strong team? One win doesn’t answer that fully, but it absolutely makes the conversation more compelling.
Kaitlyn Christian Wins Women’s Singles, But Kiora Kunimoto Deserves Recognition
Kaitlyn Christian won the women’s singles championship, defeating 18-year-old Kiora Kunimoto 11-8, 2-11, 11-4. Christian was the No. 2 seed and had been solid all tournament, including a dominant quarterfinal win over Milan Rane and a semifinal victory over Lea Jansen. She played the final with experience and composure, and in the deciding third game there wasn’t much Kunimoto could do.
But let’s talk about what Kunimoto did this week, because it was genuinely special. The 18-year-old knocked out top-seeded Kate Fahey 11-8, 2-11, 11-5 in the quarterfinals — one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament — then followed it up by defeating fellow teenager Cailyn Campbell in the semis to reach Championship Sunday. That’s a run that would be impressive from any player, let alone someone who is just over a year into her professional career.
Christian’s experience ultimately made the difference in the final, but Kunimoto’s week was a reminder that the next generation of women’s singles players is arriving fast. With Kunimoto, Campbell, and others making increasingly deep runs at major tournaments, the women’s game on the PPA Tour looks like it’s about to get a lot more interesting over the next few years.
Anna Leigh Waters Reaches 199 Career PPA Titles — 200 Will Have to Wait
Waters entered the Las Vegas Open two titles away from becoming the first player in history to reach 200 career PPA Tour championships. She leaves with 199, after a week that included a women’s doubles title alongside Anna Bright and a mixed doubles runner-up finish with Ben Johns.
The women’s doubles run with Bright was dominant for most of the week — they had cruised through the bracket without dropping a game, including an 11-1, 11-2 semifinal obliteration of Jamie Wei and Meghan Dizon. The final against Catherine Parenteau and Tyra Hurricane Black was a step up in difficulty, going three games at 11-8, 10-12, 11-5, but Waters and Bright got it done. That title brought Waters to 199.
Her opportunity to reach 200 in mixed doubles ended with the loss to Bright and Patriquin. It’s a little ironic — the same partner who helped her reach 199 was part of the team that stopped her getting to 200. Waters is expected to compete in women’s singles at the upcoming Veolia Chicago Cup, which gives her at least three more opportunities to hit the milestone at that event alone. The pickleball world will be watching closely.
Anna Bright: The Only Double-Gold Winner in Las Vegas
If you had to pick one name that defined Championship Sunday in Las Vegas, it’s Anna Bright. She was the only player to win two gold medals on the day, taking women’s doubles with Anna Leigh Waters and mixed doubles with Hayden Patriquin. Both wins came against serious competition — the women’s doubles final went three games against Parenteau and Hurricane Black, and the mixed doubles final required beating the top team in the world.
What makes Bright’s position on tour so interesting is the dual dynamic she operates in. She partners with Waters in women’s doubles, where they’re essentially the dominant team. Then she turns around and competes against Waters — alongside Patriquin in mixed doubles — for more titles. Winning both disciplines at the same tournament is a serious accomplishment, and it underlines why Bright is considered one of the most valuable doubles players in the professional game right now.
Five More Things Worth Paying Attention To
Nico Acevedo Keeps Making Deep Runs
Nico Acevedo, this time partnering with Jaume Martinez Vich as the No. 10 seeds, pushed all the way to the men’s doubles semifinals before falling to eventual silver medalists Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio 11-5, 11-6. Two weeks earlier, Acevedo had reached the Arizona Open final with a different partner. Deep runs with different teammates over consecutive tournaments are a meaningful signal that Acevedo is developing into a genuine force in men’s doubles, and his movement up the world rankings reflects that.
Luc Pham Upsets the Top Seed in Men’s Singles
Luc Pham came in as the No. 14 seed and knocked off top-seeded Christopher Haworth in the Round of 16. He eventually ran into a buzzsaw in the quarterfinals — John Lucian Goins won 11-1, 11-0, which is about as thorough as a beatdown gets — but the Haworth upset was a genuine result and one of the more unexpected moments of the week in men’s singles.
Kiora Kunimoto and Elliott Schupp Both Had Strong Doubles Showings
Beyond Kunimoto’s singles run, she also had a solid women’s doubles week, partnering with Judit Castillo to beat Walczak and DiMuzio, then taking out the established team of Lea Jansen and Jessie Irvine 11-0, 11-8, before falling in a competitive quarterfinal to Kate Fahey and Lacy Schneeman. Meanwhile, Elliott Schupp teamed with John Lucian Goins in men’s doubles to upset No. 6 seeds Roscoe Bellamy and Connor Garnett before reaching the quarterfinals. For two young players, those are encouraging results across multiple disciplines.
Genie Bouchard Continues to Develop Her Singles Game
Former professional tennis star Genie Bouchard, seeded seventh, reached the quarterfinals in women’s singles before falling to third-seeded Lea Jansen 11-3, 12-10. It wasn’t the run she had in Las Vegas last year when she reached the singles final, but another quarterfinal appearance against a deep field shows that Bouchard continues to develop as a competitive pickleball singles player.
Parenteau and Hurricane Black Pushed Waters and Bright to Three Games
Catherine Parenteau and Tyra Hurricane Black deserve credit for being the only team all week to take a game off Waters and Bright in women’s doubles. The No. 2 seeds had dispatched Lacy Schneemann and Kate Fahey in the semis, and they came within a game of the title. Translating that level of competitiveness into a championship result is the next step for this team.
What’s Coming Next: The Veolia Chicago Cup
The PPA Tour moves to the Chicago area for the Veolia Chicago Cup, running October 5-11. This one carries more weight than Las Vegas — 1,500 ranking points for champions compared to the 1,000 available last week — which means the results will have a real impact on how the rest of the season shapes up.
The questions heading in are genuinely compelling. Can Alshon and Daescu make it three consecutive men’s doubles titles? Will Hunter Johnson build on his dominant singles performance? Can Bright and Patriquin continue threatening Johns and Waters in mixed? And perhaps most importantly for the broader pickleball world: will Anna Leigh Waters finally reach career title No. 200?
Las Vegas set a high bar. Chicago is going to need to clear it.
