Daescu (R) wins the double-doubles on the weekend, pictured here mid-match with Rob Nunnery (L).
APP TourWhile its two rival professional organizations were duking it out on social media, the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) was getting down to business on the Main Line (otherwise known as the series of suburbs along US Route 30 heading west out of Philadelphia), heading to Berwyn to host the 2023 PickleballSuperstore.com APP Philadelphia Open. This is the first of three straight weekends of events for the tour as it makes its annual pilgrimage to the Jersey/Philly area, with a return to the APP’s home of Chicago nestled in-between.
Click Here for the brackets and results at pickleballbrackets.com.
Let’s Recap the action.
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Men’s Pro Singles Recap
Yates Johnson wins again, and gets some accolades from the tour.
APP TourThe depth of the singles game was on display again, as 5 of the top 8 men’s seeds fell in the round of 16, highlighted by #1 Hunter Johnson’s retirement/withdrawal. This paved the way for #9 Jose Dominguez Alonso to run all the way to the winner’s bracket final. There he fell to #2 Yates Johnson but settled for the Bronze on the weekend for his first pro medal.
#6 Jack Foster was one of the first round upsets, but thanks to the APP’s consolation bracket, his day was not over. He ground his way through five loser’s bracket wins, then topped Alonso for a shot at the gold medal. Foster indeed topped Johnson in the first match of the gold medal round, but the tour’s most improved player held on in the winner-take-all final game to claim his 3rd gold of the season. Foster settles for silver for the fourth time in his APP career.
Gold: Yates Johnson. Silver: Jack Foster. Bronze: Jose Dominguez Alonso.
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Women’s Pro Singles Recap
Salome Devidze is a force in women’s singles, irrespective of the tour.
APP TourThe absence of Parris Todd in the draw made this tournament #1 Salome Devidze’s to lose, and she did not waver, taking the gold medal in the end. However, it looked for a bit like #6 Simone Jardim was going to turn back the clock, topping Devidze in the first game of the winner’s bracket final before retiring. Her retirement cleared the path for the extension of a solid run by #14 Christa Gecheva, who beat #3 Alix Troung in the main draw and then advanced to the loser’s bracket final.
In Sunday’s final, Devidze claimed her 9th APP singles title with a 4,7 win over Gecheva. Gecheva gets her first singles podium since June of 2022.
Gold: Salome Devidze. Silver: Christa Gecheva. Bronze: Simone Jardim.
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Mixed Pro Doubles Recap
Hunter Johnson’s injury suffered during singles took him and his partner Parris Todd out of the Mixed competition, robbing the draw of its #1 seed and 6-time medalists in 2023. This opened the door for the #8 seeds Martina Frantova & William Sobek to cruise into the winner’s bracket final from the top half. The gold medalists from St. Louis, #2 seeds Andrei Daescu & Susannah Barr, worked their way into the gold medal match from the bottom half.
In the bronze medal match, Frantova & Sobek fell to the #4 seeds Vivian Glozman & Rob Nunnery to settle for bronze on the weekend, but to get Frantova her first ever pro medal. In the gold medal match, Daescu & Barr won gold for the fourth time this year together, making a statement to be the #1 Mixed pro team on the APP, with a 7,5 win.
Gold: Barr & Daescu. Silver: Glozman & Nunnery. Bronze: Frantova & Sobek.
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Men’s Pro Doubles Recap
The #1 Men’s doubles team of Andrei Daescu & Rob Nunnery was back in action, and as dominant as always, advancing to the gold medal match without dropping a set. Along the way, they toppled the #12 seeded New York-based team of Erik Forsythe & Bruno Faletto, who had a heck of a run this weekend, taking out #5 Foster & McNulty and then #4 Emmrich & Sobek.
The bottom half of the draw went a bit more chalk, as the #2 and #3 seeds advanced to the winner’s bracket semi as expected. There, #3 Andre Mick & CJ Klinger (winners in St. Louis) toppled #2 Ryler DeHeart & Richard Livornese Jr. to move on.
The 2/3 seeds met again in the bronze medal match, with Mick & Klinger winning to force a rematch with Daescu & Nunnery for the gold. In the gold medal match, The #1 seeds reversed the result from the last APP event and took gold 5,8. Daescu wins his 8th Men’s doubles gold this year in nine tries.
The win also secures Daescu’s fourth “double double” of the season, winning both the Men’s and Mixed pro doubles titles.
Gold: Daescu & Nunnery. Silver: Klinger & Mick. Bronze: DeHeart & Livornese
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Women’s Pro Doubles Recap
The #1 team of Parris Todd & Simone Jardim won gold for the 8th time in 8 tries this season, continuing to solidify their dominance on the APP tour and continuing to get solid practice together for the upcoming MLP season. The pair gave up just 12 points across eight games and four matches to advance to the gold medal match.
There, they faced the #7 seeds Mari Humberg & Allison Harris, who upset the #2 seeds Barr & Fudge early, then avenged a winner’s bracket defeat to #3 Glozman & Truong in the bronze medal game to earn a shot at the title on Sunday. The pair took bronze in St. Louis, but settled for silver in the gold medal match, falling to Todd & Jardim 4,6.
Gold: Todd & Jardim. Silver: Humberg & Harris. Bronze: Glozman & Truong.
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Champions (Senior) Pro Competition Quick Recap
A glut of competing events for seniors last weekend (PPAPPA , APP, and SPT) conspired to thin the draws, opening the doors for some new names in the Champions competitions.
Men’s Champions Pro Singles: Steve Rogers held serve as the #1 seed to win his third Champions pro singles title of the year. Men’s Champions Pro Doubles: Vinay Bahuguna & Steve Rogers got revenge for an earlier loss to take gold as the #3 seeds. Women’s Champions Pro Doubles: Jenny Klitch & Eva Welsher won doubles gold together for the first time since November 2022. Mixed Champions Pro Doubles: Rogers teamed with Tammie Steele to take gold and win the Champions Triple Crown for the weekend. ————————
The Pro Pickleball Medal Tracker has now been updated with these results; check out this link online for a complete pro medal history for all tours and all pro events.
Next up on the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, …
Next up for APP tour? They’re heading to Chicago for the second of three back-to-back-to-back tourneys. Avalon, New Jersey is the weekend after next.