(PPA Release)
December 3, 2023 (San Clemente, CA) – The CIBC PPA Finals presented by E-Z-GO concluded at Life Time on Sunday. Here are the results of the gold medal matches (based on order of play), which were broadcast on PickleballTV, Tennis Channel and FS1:
Women’s Doubles
(1) Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau def. (2) Anna Bright/Vivienne David – 11-2, 11-5, 11-6
Waters and Parenteau cruised to a straight-game triumph over Bright and David in just under an hour. With the victory, Waters officially completed an undefeated season in women’s doubles. It was her 17th women’s doubles title of the year, 10 of which came alongside Parenteau. Waters and Parenteau were unbeaten as a tandem all season long.
Heading into the tournament, Waters knew her perfect season in women’s doubles was on the line, but she didn’t let the prospect of achieving the milestone affect her approach.
“I tried not to think about it. I was just kind of taking it one match at a time, but when you’re playing next to Catherine, it’s pretty hard to lose,” said Waters. “She’s amazing. She carried me a little bit through this match at certain points, so I’m just super happy to be playing with such an amazing person. She’s also a really good pickleball player.”
With the win, Parenteau also moved into second place all-time with 33 career PPA titles.
Men’s Doubles
(1) Ben Johns/Collin Johns def. (4) Thomas Wilson/Riley Newman – 11-2, 4-11, 11-9, 12-10
The Johns brothers were challenged by Wilson and Newman, but the top-seeded duo ultimately came out on top. It was their 13th PPA title together this year and 26th overall.
“We saw them once before in Cincinnati, and that was a tight match. We got out the door in the second game, and then we felt pretty good about how we played in that third game, so we were trying to replicate more of that third game,” said Collin. “Certainly, they’re tough. Sometimes with a new partnership like that, it takes you some time to figure it out, but we were really happy to close out that fourth game. It was a banner year for us, and this was the perfect way to cap it off.”
Women’s Singles
(1) Anna Leigh Waters def. (2) Catherine Parenteau – 11-7, 11-1
Waters made quick work of Parenteau to win her 14th singles title of the year on the PPA Tour. It was also Waters’ seventh championship victory over Parenteau this season.
Despite the scoreline, Waters says the match was anything but a walk in the park.
“Usually, I’m pretty good at handling playing with her and then playing against her, but today for some reason while we were playing singles, it just didn’t feel right. I don’t know, there was something about it,” mentioned Waters. “I was just super proud that she got to the Finals and that we could play again one last time this year. It’s really special. We’ve kind of battled it out all year, had some really close matches, especially the last one, so to get to play another Final to end out the year was just icing on the cake.”
Men’s Singles
(1) Ben Johns def. (6) Christian Alshon – 11-3, 9-11, 13-11
Johns and Alshon engaged in quite a battle before things finally came to an end in favor of the World No. 1. It was Johns’ 11th singles title on the PPA Tour this season.
Alshon, meanwhile, is still seeking his first PPA singles crown, but he pushed Johns to the limit.
“I feel like you’ve got to always have confidence. Luckily for me, in game three I had a lead towards the end of the game. We were both feeling the pressure, but I didn’t see any match points on my end, which is definitely not the position you want to be in,” explained Johns. “Christian played great. He played really well under pressure. He played a great game two. It was pretty awesome from him, and I’m just happy to come away with the W.”
Mixed Doubles
(1) Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters def. (4) JW Johnson/Jorja Johnson – 11-1, 11-3, 11-4
Johns and Waters capped their respective seasons in style by clinching their 20th career Triple Crowns on the PPA Tour with an emphatic victory over the Johnson siblings. It also marked their 27th mixed doubles title together. Fifteen of those titles came this season.
“It’s super exciting. I really wanted to end the year on a Triple, just kind of end on a high note. If I didn’t, I think it would just push me to work harder, but I’m still going to work super hard,” said Waters. “It was just super exciting to finish with Ben. It was definitely really cool because my career kind of started to take off when Ben decided to partner up with me in mixed doubles, so to kind of end this year with him is really cool, and just to see our growth as a team has been amazing. I’m super glad to be a part of this team.”
Waters secured 13 Triple Crowns this season, while Johns claimed nine.
The 2024 PPA Tour season begins with the Hyundai Masters powered by Invited, which will be held from January 9-14 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA.