What a weekend for the PPA at the Selkirk Red Rock Open in beautiful St. George, Utah, as the pickleball world once again was locked in on all the action!
Related: A Primer to Pickleball, the Sport of the Future!
If you missed any of the results, we have you covered on all the dinks and dunks throughout the five days at the Little Valley Sports Complex.
Tyson McGuffin put his fingerprints all over St. George this weekend, as he not only captured a men’s singles gold medal but also took down the men’s doubles title with Brendon Long.
This was a big weekend for McGuffin. Ben Johns, JW Johnson, & Dylan Frazier were among a few of the big names missing in action, so the path to multiple titles was fairly wide open and he took full advantage.
Outside of a finals appearance at MLP Mesa it’s been a tough go for the 34-year-old, as he entered the event with only one bronze medal through the first quarter of the PPA season. He’s been battling injuries that took him out of competition for all of February. Some (including myself) were beginning to wonder if the door was closing on him competing for titles, especially in singles, which we know is the most physical of the three events.
In the doubles final he and Long fended off multiple match points and ended up victorious in a 5-game thriller over Bar/Johns, who had success isolating Long in games 2 & 3, forcing McGuffin over to the left side in the final two games where he held up extremely well.
In the singles final he faced the 28-year-old Colombian, Pablo Tellez, who came out firing as Tyson found himself down 7-0 early. Being the veteran that he is, McGuffin relied on his big stage experience to claw himself back into the first game (which he ended up taking 11-9). He sealed the deal 11-7 in game two, walking away with a double crown.
In classic Tyson fashion he celebrated by chugging a beer after his post match interview. Good to have you back in the winner’s circle, TM!
With no Anna Leigh Waters in the field, the path to a gold medal for Catherine Parenteau was a rather easy one. Her record against Waters is 1-2 in 2023. Against the rest of the ladies on the PPA tour, it's 15-2. She took care of business winning all four of her matches without dropping a game.
Parenteau kicked off championship Saturday against Salome Devidze, who took out Lea Jansen in the semis, but she was no match for Parenteau winning just eight points over two games. We look forward to the return of Waters, because without her there is no consistent threat to Catherine right now, as her shot making and court coverage continue to overwhelm her opponents.
It was an all-Utah women’s final on Saturday (minus Lea Jansen) at the Selkirk Red Rock Open.
Dizon/Wright took out the prohibitive favorites Bright/David in the semifinals while Jansen/Jones took out the 1 seeds Kovalova/Smith. This was the final we were looking forward to the most as Jansen/Jones were looking to finally get over the hump and win gold (they had won two silvers and two bronzes up until this point in the season).
On the other side Wright/Dizon were a team full of confidence, coming off an MLP title together just two weeks prior. We were treated to another 5-game classic, which saw Dizon/Wright squeeze out a late victory 11-8. It’s important to note that in the last eight PPA tournaments of 2022, Jones/Dizon were partners and finished with an 8-8 main draw record. They decided on an amicable split and are now thriving in new partnerships. Both have upped their levels significantly over the past three months, but sometimes it’s best to try something new.
Good to see both of them having success in 2023, as there's not two more likable players on tour.
The Bright/Ignatowich partnership was a big headline in the month of March.
After a subpar performance at the Florida Open we weren’t sure if their chemistry off the court was going to translate on it. Fast forward a month and they now have a silver and a gold medal to their names, with their only loss coming at the hands of Ben Johns & Anna Leigh Waters.
All signs pointed up, as they left Austin with a 2nd place finish. Not only did they continuously support each other through rough patches of play, but they were able to problem solve and find working patterns which we don’t see very often from brand new partnerships.
Then again, these two practically spend their lives together training, traveling and competing. We thought this team would be the #2 mixed doubles team by the time summer rolled around, but a couple more medals in the upcoming Newport, CA and Charlotte, NC events and we can safely make that claim well before that.
Where We Were Right:
Men’s Singles: Tellez and Mcguffin both make the podium.
Women’s Singles: Parenteau takes home gold easily.
Mixed Doubles: Bright/Ignatowich leave St George undefeated.
Men’s Doubles: Bar/Johns Austin connection should carry over.
Women’s Doubles: Wright/Dizon will build on their MLP success.
Where We Were Wrong:
Men’s Singles: Staksrud: He is now 0-2 on podiums with no Ben Johns in the draw
Women’s Singles: Buckner/Jones: Don’t bet against the top 4 of ALW, Parenteau, Jansen, Devidze
Mixed Doubles: Newman/Koop & Tyson/CP: Newman isn’t easy to gel with right away and Tyson/CP lost a shocker to Barr/Navratil.
What was your most surprising outcome from the Selkirk Red Rock Open? Shoot us a message on Instagram @picklejuice.137 and let us know!
