The Zimmer Biomet Masters powered by Invited was the latest stop on the PPA Tour. It was the first event of 2025, and it did not disappoint. Many spectators said it had the highest level of play ever seen at a pickleball tournament, and the semifinal round on Saturday was particularly noteworthy. If The Masters is any indication, 2025 is going to be a year filled with upsets and fantastic finishes.

 

 

The Masters was much publicized as the “last” tournament that Ben Johns and Collin Johns would play men’s doubles together. I suspect it is nowhere near the last one, but either way the publicity surrounding the event seemed to motivate the brothers to an especially high level of play. They fought their way through a very tough draw. They were taken to three games by Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon in the semis, but regrouped to easily defeat Federico Staskrud/Hayden Patriquin in the finals. Staksrud/Patruquin had been the hottest men’s team on tour, so the Johns beating them without losing a game was especially impressive. Ben Johns will now go on to play with Gabe Tardio, but look for the reunion with Collin sooner than everyone thinks.

 

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters began 2025 where she left off in 2024, with a triple crown. Mixed doubles and women’s doubles continue to be a challenge, but ALW’s domination in singles is, if anything, becoming even more impressive. In singles, ALW did not lose a game; indeed, her opponents averaged only 2.5 points per game over the six matches. There was some thought that Kate Fahey or Parris Todd might challenge ALW in singles in 2025, but if The Masters was any indication, we may have to wait for 2026.

 

 

 

With the new rules for 2025 regarding gold cards for the pros, some players lacking PPA contracts have to get to the main draw through the qualifier event. Under the new rules, gold cards are issued to PPA signed players. The gold cards provide certain privileges, such as automatic entry to the main draw. Unsigned players have to work their way through the qualifier draw. This week, one big name team in the qualifier was Jackie Kawamoto/Vivian Glozman, as Kawamoto is signed but Glozman is not. They did not let their qualifier status bother them. They easily qualified, then went on to a fourth place finish in the main draw. Indeed, they even took a game off gold medal winners Waters/Parenteau in the semis. We can expect to see a few more players than we are used to emerging from qualifier rounds under the new rules.

 

 

 

Catherine Parenteau showed her versatility at The Masters. She won a gold in women’s doubles, a silver in mixed doubles, and a bronze in women’s singles. While it was not a gold in all three events, earning a medal in each is a noteworthy triple crown of another sort. Parenteau played very steady pickleball all week, and a medal in all three disciplines is a great achievement.

 

 

 

Companies are constantly updating their paddles and coming out with new versions. This week, Selkirk was in the news as they voluntarily removed all of their paddles from the list of eligible paddles for PPA events, except for the 008. According to pros I talked to, they were only given a few days’ notice about the change, and players then had to switch to the 008 for this tournament. Most notably, Selkirk pro Quang Duong appeared frustrated with his 008 and switched mid tournament to a Proton paddle. Indeed, he actually switched mid-game, during a mixed doubles match! This caught the eye of the pickleball world, with everyone remarking that they had never seen a pro switch paddles like that during a match. In other paddle news, Federico Staksrud publicly bid goodbye to his JOOLA paddle, announcing on Instagram he was no longer using a JOOLA paddle. We will have to wait and see which paddle he uses going forward. Next, Kate Fahey switched to ProXr, using the latest and greatest from ProXr at The Masters. Finally, Franklin has a new paddle out, and Franklin players such as JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson, Parris Todd, and Hayden Patrquin were using the new version. The new Farnklin paddle had a distinctive sound, somewhat reminiscent of a powerful JOOLA or Gearbox paddle. At least one opponent questioned the power of the new Franklin paddle. Will it be the subject of a formal challenge?

 

 

The unfortunate California fires have resulted in the cancellation of the Veolia Southern California Open. So, the next stop will be the Australia Pickleball Open. It will be interesting to see pros from Down Under compete against the regulars on the PPA Tour who are going to Australia. This will tell us a lot about how much the rest of the world is catching up. After that, we go to Arizona for the Tucson Open, beginning February 5.

 

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