This week’s Proton Tucson Open is just the third PPA event of the 2025 season, but it’s already giving us several intriguing partnerships to look out for.

Among the most notable are the pairings of Riley Newman/Matt Wright and Ben Johns/Hayden Patriquin.

Let’s get into why these partnerships are so significant.

Riley Newman/Matt Wright

If you started watching pickleball before 2024, then you’re probably familiar with the Newman/Wright partnership.

Their run, which spanned from January 2022 through June 2023, saw them medal in all 27 tournaments they played together.

They earned titles in eight of those tournaments, beating the Johns bros in the finals on four occasions.

Despite their success together, the two split in June of 2023 in a very public fashion, with Newman making an Instagram post dedicated to the decision.

Six months later at the PPA Finals (still in 2023), the two faced off on back-to-back days, with Wright winning in mixed doubles and Newman prevailing in men’s doubles.

 

 

 

 

 

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Newman admits that there was more on the line than just wins and losses in those contests.

“The first few times when we played against each other after the split—whether it was in men’s doubles or mixed doubles—there was definitely some extra juice on those matches, a little extra wanting to win against your former partner.”

Since their partnership ended, both Newman and Wright have remained near the top of the sport. In 2024, they both finished inside the top 16 in the men’s doubles rankings, which allowed them to qualify for the PPA Finals again.

Though neither of them medaled at that tournament, it did give them a setting to talk about bringing back one of the most dominant—and entertaining—partnerships in the history of the sport.

 

 

 

 

 

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“When the opportunity arose in San Clemente in 2024 at the tour finals, Matt and I had a quick conversation in person, and we were just like ‘Hey, since we stopped playing, we haven’t really found that next best partner to fill in and be that solid partner that we were for each other back in the day,’ so I was pumped for the opportunity and the idea of coming back together,” Newman recalled. “Obviously, the game has changed a little bit since we played last. People hit with a lot more power and a lot more spin, so we’re excited to see how our styles match up with the newer style of pickleball where there are more speedups and attacks.”

Wright spoke about the roles that mental fortitude and pattern recognition have played in making him and Newman such a formidable pairing in the past.

“I think we’re both fierce competitors, and we’re very gritty,” he explained. “I think we play better in the bigger moments, and we’re both able to get to the kitchen line very well. Our third shot drops are reliable, so we can get into a lot of points, and then we feel very comfortable together at the line. I think Riley knows when I’m going to speed up, and he feels very comfortable trying to clean things up when I do go for it. I also feel like I know his shot patterns very well and can see where he’s gonna go.”

With plans to play at least three tournaments together this year, Newman and Wright are going into this partnership with a renewed appreciation for their past successes, as well as a burning desire to accomplish more in the future.

“We had experienced a ton of success together, and we were still having a ton of success when the split happened. I think we both realized that you gain a greater appreciation for that success when you get to reflect on it a little bit. After we had an opportunity to do that, it just started to make more and more sense to reunite,” Wright explained. “I’m just looking forward to getting out there on the court with Riley—I’m really excited about it. I think it’ll be interesting to see how we do. I think we’re gonna be a heck of a team, a tough out, and it’ll be a lot of fun.”

The tour veterans will enter this week’s tournament as the No. 7 seeds.

Ben Johns/Hayden Patriquin

If the Newman/Wright combination is at one end of the spectrum when it comes to time spent together on court, then the pairing of Ben Johns/Hayden Patriquin sits on the complete opposite end of that spectrum.

Those two are pairing up for the first time in what is coincidentally Ben’s first tournament since he and Collin Johns ended their partnership (at least for 2025) with a title at the PPA Masters.    

Johns is set to play most of the year with Gabe Tardio, but he’s teaming up with another top teenage talent in Tucson.

 

 

 

 

 

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He laid out a few reasons explaining why he’s excited to share the court with Patriquin.

“Hayden hits some really great aggressive third balls, which gets me into aggressive plays off of that. He also pulls triggers off the bounce really well and is deceptive with his spots, which I think is great for me to follow up on," Johns raved. "On top of that, he has phenomenal hands and will definitely be a menace in any hands-based rallies.”

Both Johns and Patriquin are among the best players in the sport individually, but there’s a potential complication to consider with their partnership: court positioning.

Johns has traditionally played a big left side with Collin, while Patriquin is known for taking more court on the right than most other players.

Obviously, you can’t have both players playing ‘big’ versions of their sides.

The two have been practicing together in Florida ahead of the tournament, though, and Patriquin doesn’t seemed to be too worried about managing court position.

“We had pretty good chemistry on the court and moved well with each other,” he noted. “I definitely let Ben take a little bit more court instead of me coming over and taking more court from him, which I’m totally fine with.”

Johns echoed that sentiment of confidence.

“There are always challenges with new partners, but that will be primarily pattern-based unfamiliarity, I think. I don’t anticipate too much trouble playing with Hayden in a bigger right-side role,” he said.

Final Word

The best part about both of these partnerships, of course, is the fact that we could see them face off against each other if they both make the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Catch all the main draw action starting Thursday on the Pickleballtv app.