Pro Pickleball Pops: Orange County Cup Draws Thousands to Life Time Courts
3 min read
By Zach Cavanagh
The eyes of the court docket activity local community were focused on San Clemente very last weekend from Thursday, June 9, by way of Sunday, June 12.
The Professional Pickleball Association’s Find Clinical Orange County Cup returned to Existence Time Rancho San Clemente and drew almost 1,000 athletes, much more than 4,000 spectators and robust viewership for reside Saturday and Championship Sunday broadcasts on Tennis Channel. Coming out of this weekend, the PPA also partnered with Tennis Magazine for the publication’s to start with-at any time joint tennis-pickleball concern.
In San Clemente, far more than 300 medals were awarded in much more than 100 activities, as the Orange County Cup observed competitions above several divisions based mostly on various skill levels, ages and demographics. There were qualified, open up, senior and skill/age team competitions in men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as perfectly as combined doubles.
Amidst the bevy of opponents from local origins and much past, the highlight was positioned on the competition’s specialist ranks, as top rated-rated players contended for much more than $133,000 in prize money around the four-working day event.
On the women’s side, No. 7 seed and Orange County native Parris Todd scored the result of the weekend with a five-set championship upset of PPA singles No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters. Todd was in her first PPA championship visual appearance and took the title in front of friends and household from Newport Beach. The match was Waters’ very first singles loss of the season.
The 15-12 months-outdated Waters didn’t go dwelling devoid of a gold on the weekend, as she took the get in the combined doubles with 19-calendar year-previous teammate JW Johnson, the men’s No. 4 singles player. Waters and Johnson took down the team of Lucy Kovalova and Matt Wright, tied at No. 2 in the blended doubles rankings, with a dominant fifth established.
Kovalova of Slovakia received the upper hand on Waters in the women’s doubles in a 3-established sweep. Kovalova and Callie Smith, Nos. 1 and 2 in the women’s doubles rankings, bested the mother-daughter workforce of Leigh Waters and Anna Leigh Waters, tied at No. 3 in the PPA rankings.
On the men’s facet, Johnson also scored an upset in the singles by sweeping No. 2 singles participant Tyson McGuffin. In men’s doubles, Wright and Riley Newman, the No. 2 and 3-ranked doubles, scooped up a 4-set championship acquire.
The PPA Tour will not be back in motion right until August, but it will be back in Southern California for the Skechers Manhattan Seashore Invitational on Aug. 4-7. The Tour returns to Orange County in November for the Takeya Showcase at the Tennis Club at Newport Seaside on Nov. 17-20.
Zach Cavanagh
Zach Cavanagh is the sports activities editor for Picket Fence Media. Zach is many California Journalism Award winner and has included sports in Orange County since 2013. Comply with him on Twitter and Instagram @ZachCav and adhere to our sports activities coverage on Twitter @SouthOCSports. Electronic mail at zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com.
