Parris Todd Shines In A Dominant 2023 U.S. Open Pickleball Championships Performance

The 2023 Minto US Open Championships, the seventh iteration of the sport’s biggest event, is in the books. We previewed the event and told a bit of its history in this space last week, but now after thousands of players played many more thousands of matches on the 64 courts of East Naples Park in Naples, Florida, the 2023 US Open champions have been crowned.

Head to PickleballTournaments for the full results of all the pro, senior pro, and amateur brackets. Let’s Recap the pro action.

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Women’s Pro Singles Recap:

#1 Salome Devidze and #2 Parris Todd have run roughshod over the APP pro circuit so far in 2023 and were deserving top seeds. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to see them facing off for the US Open title. #5 seed Judit Castillo Gargallo had other plans. Castillo Gargallo advanced over the prohibitive favorite Devidze to secure a spot in the Sunday gold medal match.

There, Castillo Gargallo and Todd had a match for the ages. After splitting the first two games, they played a back and forth 15-13 barn burner eventually won by the #2 seed Todd to secure her first US Open title. It was a sign of things to come for the APP star Todd, who dominated the rest of the week in Florida. Devidze opted out of the consolation bracket, eventually won by #3 Megan Fudge.

Gold: Parris Todd. Silver: Judit Castillo Gargallo. Bronze: Megan Fudge.

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Men’s Pro Singles Recap:

With the absence of the PPA
PPA
contracted pros, the pro draws in Naples were always going to resemble the current APP draws, and indeed the pro singles final came down to a couple of familiar faces in the Johnson Brothers. #1 seed Hunter Johnson, who has won all three APP Pro singles titles so far in 2023, ended up topping his brother and #3 seed Yates Johnson in the gold medal match for the title. #10 William Sobek and #12 Brandon Lane had excellent runs to the semis of the winner’s bracket, but neither could take the consolation draw as #7 Frank Anthony Davis gutted out six matches in the backside bracket to earn the bronze. This is the first US Open medal for all three players.

Gold: Hunter Johnson. Silver: Yates Johnson. Bronze: Frank Anthony Davis.

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Men’s Pro Doubles Recap

Kyle Yates is the king of the US Open. He won the first four US Open gold medals awarded in Mens Pro Doubles, twice with Dave Weinbach in 2016 and 2017, then with Matt Wright in 2018 and Ben Johns in 2019 before Johns & Johns became the de facto top-ranked pair in the sport. And in 2023, Yates once again ascended to the throne at the US Open, winning his fifth ever title in Men’s Pro doubles.

This year, he teamed with Andre Daescu and the pair absolutely dominated the men’s pro doubles draw. They gave up just 21 total points in five matches, including a blowout win in the gold medal match 11-6, 11-0 over the #2 seeded Johnson brothers, to put an emphatic statement on their win.

This win continues two trends we’re seeing from the APP events this season; Daescu has now won all three APP Men’s pro doubles titles so far in 2023 (two of them with Kyle), while Hunter & Yates Johnson have won two silvers and a bronze thus far in 2023. These two teams are clearly separating themselves from the rest of the APP pack. The #6 seeds Joey Farias and Andreas Siljestrom took home the bronze.

Gold: Yates & Daescu. Silver: Johnson & Johnson. Bronze: Farias & Siljestrom

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Women’s Pro Doubles Recap:

Parris Todd teamed with the most decorated ladies pro in US Open history in Simone Jardim to form the #1 seeds in Naples, and the pair lived up to expectations. Jardim earns her third US Open women’s Pro doubles title and first since 2018 by teaming with the APP’s dominant Todd to take the title. They vanquished the #3 seeds Bobbi Oshiro & Megan Fudge in the final. Up and comers Alix Truong & Milan Rane took out the #2 seeds Shelby Bates & Susannah Barr to claim the bronze. For all the ladies on the podium not named Simone, it represents their first ever US Open medal.

Gold: Todd & Jardim. Silver: Oshiro & Fudge. Bronze: Truong & Rane

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Mixed Pro Doubles Recap:

The Mixed pro doubles draw in Naples was highlighted by two fan favorites and long-time US Open participants Simone Jardim and Kyle Yates, the #1 seeds. Between them, they own no fewer than 17 US Open gold medals, and there has not been a US Open held that did not feature a gold medal being captured by one or the other of these legends.

The #1 seeds did their part, advancing in a very chalk-y draw into the final by topping #4 seeded Megan Fudge & Ryler DeHeart in the semis from the top side of the draw. The bottom side featured the looming power team of the two singles gold medalists Hunter Johnson and Parris Todd, who cruised into the semis as the #2 seed without being seriously challenged. They dropped a game there to #6 Rob Nunnery & Susannah Barr, but won the next two games to set up a #1 versus #2 final. Fudge & DeHeart rallied to take the bronze, finishing off an excellent US Open with three medals in three pro divisions.

The mixed pro final, the last match competed of the tournament, did not disappoint; the teams split the first two games to head to a tiebreaker on a sold-out championship court. Todd & Johnson raced out to a big lead and threatened to make it a laugher, but the veterans ground it back and took the lead 8-6 in the breaker. A disputed foot fault interrupted the momentum of the final, the veterans pushed the score to 9-6 … but the #2 seeds got the serve back and quickly ran off three points to even it. Unfortunately, the referee discussion, the Florida heat, and the length of the match took its toll on Yates, who was visibly cramping and hobbling around the court. It was just a matter of time; on match point Yates popped up a dink attempt and Hunter poached and crushed it for a winner and the title. Todd secures the triple crown.

Gold: Todd & Johnson. Silver: Jardim & Yates. Bronze: Fudge & DeHeart.

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Senior Pro Competition Quick Recap

· Men’s Senior Pro Singles: Paul Olin came out on top of a senior pro singles draw that featured a who’s who of top players, beating Mark Palus (who has two senior pro singles titles in 2023 already) in the semis and then Rick Witsken (who finished #1 in 2022 in the APP’s senior pro rankings) in the final. Witsken had topped the #1 seeded Mattias Johannsen in the semis; Johannsen has three senior golds already this year across both the APP and PPA. A great competition of the top senior pros in the game today.

· Men’s Senior Pro Doubles: Dayne Gingrich repeated as Senior pro Men’s US Open doubles champion, teaming this year with Altaf Merchant to take the gold. They defeated two-time gold medalist Dave Weinbach, teamed with John Sperling, in a tight 12-10, 12-10 finals win.

· Women’s Senior Pro Singles: Jennifer Dawson added another major title to her resume with a dominant win in the women’s senior pro singles draw. She won 6 games across three matches by a combined score of 66-10 to take the crown.

· Women’s Senior Pro Doubles: the #1 seeds Beth Bellamy and Nathalie Bagby held serve and took the senior pro doubles title in Naples, topping #1 Eva Welsher & Angela Simon in the final.

· Mixed Senior Pro Doubles: Merchant made it a “doubles double” on the weekend, winning the Mens and the Mixed by teaming with Eva Welsher to take the Mixed senior pro title. They beat the presumptive favorites Witskin and Bellamy in the final, the two top ranked senior pros from 2022.

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Next up for Pro Pickleball? We’ll recap the PPA Newport Beach event tomorrow. Then, according to my Master Pickleball Schedule … Next up on the Pickleball Calendar is the APP Sunmed Sacramento Open in Northern California.