Frazier Turns Back The Clock At The Association Of Pickleball Players Miami Open
Welcome to the Association of Pickleball Players Chase APP Miami Open, the first “major” of the year. That means a huge pro purse ($150k) and a huge opportunity for the APP’s pro players to earn a hefty pay day and to move up the APP’s pro rankings. Future APP Majors will be held in NYC in May, Newport Beach in July, and then Fort Lauderdale in December to finish the season.
This week’s event is being held at the Miami Beach Convention Center and is involved with a huge racquet sport weekend in the Miami area. Tennis’ Miami Open is going on this weekend, a Masters-1000 level tennis tournament that features both the ATP and the WTA’s top players. Also, the inaugural RacquetX conference runs from Mar 24th-26th in Miami and is bringing in movers and shakers from nearly every racquet sport out there, and Pickleball is front and center with the very first panel of the conference Sunday morning, featuring significant players from all the major entities. So, it was a good weekend to be in South Florida.
Click here for the PickleballBrackets.com home page for the APP event.
Let’s Recap the action.
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Men’s Pro Singles Recap
Depth in the Men’s singles game continues to deepen; the top three seeds in Men’s qualifying failed to make the main draw, and multi-time medalist Stefan Auvergne lost in the first round of qualifying to Dusty Boyer, who made waves at the last PPA event by crashing into the 16s as an unknown qualifier.
Once the main draw started, the top seeds started falling. The #2, #6, and #8 seeds all were upset in the round of 32; #2 JW Johnson was taken out by singles specialist Frank Antonio Davis and #8 William Sobek was taken out by Naveen Beasley, who’s gotten a slew of results professionally. However, it was the conqueror of #6 seed Eduardo Irizarry who made the most noise: Grayson Goldin. Goldin, a 28-yr old former University of South Florida #1 singles player, has quietly been getting impressive pro singles results and now sits ranked #22 on the APP. He won’t be ranked that low for long, as he went on a tear in Miami. After topping #6 Irizarry, he took out Sacramento’s gold medalist Will Howells in three, then a 2-game win over Stephen Madonia in the quarters (who toppled #3 Yates Johnson a round earlier), and finally a grinding 3-game win over #7 Ryler DeHeart in the semis. What a run, especially in a major, and irrespective of his Sunday result he should be in the top 10 after this event.
From the top half, #1 Hunter Johnson and #5 Jack Foster were rare top seeds in Miami who did not stumble early, and both advanced to face off in the semis for a shot at Goldin on Sunday. Johnson held firm with an 18-16, 15-10 win to send Foster to the Bronze medal match, and himself to the gold medal match, looking to extend his lead atop the APP’s ranking board. Foster topped DeHeart for the Bronze, his second medal in as many events.
In Sunday’s final, Johnson cruised past Goldin 13,8 in what may be his final APP appearance for some time, but Goldin certainly made his mark with his first pro medal.
Gold: Hunter Johnson. Silver: Grayson Goldin. Bronze: Jack Foster.
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Women’s Pro Singles Recap
There were 25 ladies competing for four qualifying spots, a healthy draw for any women’s pro singles competition right now. Once the main draw started up, the top ranked ladies suffered a similar bout of upsets as the men. #2 Jorja Johnson, the triple crown winner in Sacramento, was upset in the first round by Katerina Stewart. Stewart continued her run, topping Mari Humberg in the quarters before the former ITF tennis pro fell in the semis. #6 Jenna Hessert, who had taken out last week’s PPA singles gold medalist #3 Judit Castillo in the quarters, topped Stewart to put herself in her first gold medal singles match since last December.
Meanwhile, #1 Megan Fudge avoided upsets all day Thursday and cruised into the gold medal match without dropping a game. She topped Spaniard María Fernández Costantino in the 16s, #8 Shelby Bates in the quarters, and then #13 Bobbi Oshiro in the semis. Oshiro finished off a solid tournament by topping Stewart for the bronze.
In the gold medal match, Fudge topped Hessert in two close games 15-13, 15-13 to claim her 5th career APP Pro singles medal. Hessert settles for her third career medal (two silvers and a gold).
Gold: Megan Fudge. Silver: Jenna Hessert. Bronze: Bobbi Oshiro.
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Mixed Pro Doubles Recap
The depth on the APP keeps improving: 30 teams entered Mixed pro qualifying, including teams with multiple APP gold medals in other disciplines. However, once the main draw started, the cream rose to the top. The only two upsets in the first round included arguably under-seeded teams getting expected wins: #21 Mari Humberg & Auggie Ge took out #12 Shelby Bates & Jack Foster, and #19 Simone Jardim & Ronan Camron took out #14 Regina Goldberg & Yates Johnson. After that, seven of the top eight seeds advanced into the quarters as expected, with only Humberg & Ge joining the party after their second upset in a row, topping #5 Allison Harris & Andre Mick.
Top seeds #1 Hunter Johnson and Susannah Barr were upset in the quarters, taken out in two close games by #8 Will Howells & Milan Rane, another great result for both players. Unfortunately, Howells & Rane couldn’t keep up the momentum, as they were ousted in the semis by the #4 seeds Dylan Frazier & Hurricane Tyra Black, making a rare (but possibly more frequent going forward) appearance on the APP.
From the bottom half, the top two seeds battled it out for a spot in Sunday’s finals, and the two teams were heavyweights. #2 Andrei Daescu, fresh off his double-double on the PPA tour last week, teamed with his regular partner Megan Fudge to take on the two youngest members of the “Johnson Five” in #3 seeds Jorja Johnson & Gabriel Tardio. At the end of a very entertaining, back and forth semi, experience overcame youth, and Daescu/Fudge moved into the final. Jorja & Tardio crushed their regular weekly playing partners Rane & Howells 1,3 for the bronze (they all live within a few miles of each other in and around Boca Raton).
In the gold medal match, Black & Frazier made quick work of the tour’s #2 seeds 11-4, then held on for a 12-10 game two win and the gold. This is Hurricane’s first ever APP medal, and Dylan’s first Mixed pro gold since he took on in December 2022 in Mesa teamed with Jardim.
Gold: Black & Frazier. Silver: Fudge & Daescu. Bronze: Johnson & Tardio.
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Men’s Pro Doubles Recap
It’s only fitting that, in a tournament that happens during the beginning weekend of March Madness, a #12 seed upsets a #5 seed to make some noise at the tournament. And that’s exactly what happened in the Men’s Pro Doubles draw. #12 seeds Spencer Lanier & Jason Bock survived the #21 seeds in the opener, then shocked #5 C.J. Klinger & Andre Mick in the round of 16. They didn’t stop there, absolutely destroying the #4 seeds Stefan Auvergne & Brendon Long 3,2 to make it to the semis from the topside. Their run fell at the hands of the #1 seeds JW Johnson & Dylan Frazier, but there’s no shame in losing to the world’s second best doubles team.
The bottom half of the draw featured an even bigger underdog team making an even deeper run. The #15 Seeded team of Erik Lange & Max Manthou (who goes by the moniker “Purple Jesus” in pickleballbrackets.com) cruised past the #18 seeds in the opener, then shocked the #2 seeded team and Gold medalists from Sacramento Andrei Daesecu & Gabe Tardio in the round of 16 to move on. Lange & Manthou didn’t stop there; they ground out a 3-game win over #5 Cincola & Munro in the quarters before falling in the semis to #6 Ryler DeHeart & Will Howells.
In a battle of Cinderellas for the Bronze, #15 Lange & Manthou topped #12 Lanier & Bock. It’s Lange’s first APP medal in ages: he last took a medal in August of 2021 with Wesley Gabrielson in Bend, Oregon. Manthou has one career medal before this, when he made a crazy run to the Bronze in February 2023’s Daytona Beach Open.
In the gold medal match, Johnson & Frazier found little resistance from DeHeart & Howells and cruised to the gold medal 3,3. The long-time #1 APP pair secured their 8th career APP gold medal together and their first since Hilton Head in October 2022. For Frazier, he gets a double-double gold for the weekend, winning both Men’s and mixed.
Gold: Frazier & Johnson. Silver: DeHeart & Howells. Bronze: Lange & Manthou.
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Women’s Pro Doubles Recap
The dominant #1 APP women’s doubles team of Megan Fudge & Susannah Barr did their part from the top half of the draw, coming out on top against the #8 seeds Butler & Ascarate in the quarters and the #4 seeds Humberg & Truong in the semis to earn a spot in Sunday’s gold medal match.
The bottom half of the draw saw its favorite #2 Simone Jardim & Allison Harris upset in the quarters at the hands of the #10 seeded team of Judit Castillo & Ewa Radzikowska 11-9 in the third. Judit & Ewa were looking like the favorites to advance to the gold, splitting the first two games with #3 Jorja Johnson & Milan Rane and going up big in the third, but the Boca Raton pair kept grinding out points and came all the way back to claim the win 11-9 in the third and send the #10 seeds to the bronze.
In the bronze medal match, Humberg & Truong again topped Castillo & Radzikowska 11-9 in the third to claim the medal.
The gold medal match was a battle of youth versus experience, and youth won out. Teenager Jorja Johnson and 20-something Milan Rane took out the tour’s #1 seeds Fudge & Barr in two games. It wasn’t quite the triple-crown weekend for Jorja as Sacramento was, but she does walk away with her 20th career APP gold. Fudge comes up short in the final, but completes a 3-medal weekend.
Gold: Johnson & Rane. Silver: Fudge & Barr. Bronze: Humberg & Truong
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AARP Champions (Senior 50+) Pro Competition Quick Recap
- Men’s Champions Pro Singles: Mark Palus took out both the #1 and #2 seeds (Olin and Rogers) to claim gold.
- Women’s Champions Pro Singles: Dana Wiatroski took her second Champions pro singles medal in 2024, topping Punta Gorda’s champion Karin Ptaszek-Kochis in the final.
- Mixed Champions Pro Doubles: Lee Whitwell made it three-for-three on the APP Champions circuit, teaming with Jaime Oncins for their 3rd Pro Mixed Champions gold this year.
- Men’s Champions Pro Doubles: #1 Altaf Merchant & Jaime Oncins, gold medal winners from Punta Gorda earlier this year, cruised to the gold medal without giving up more than 4 points in any single game.
- Women’s Champions Pro Doubles: Whitwell made it a double-gold weekend, taking the Mixed earlier and then the Women’s Doubles with partner Angela Simon.
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AARP Masters (Super Senior 60+) Pro Competition Quick Recap
- Men’s Masters Pro Doubles: F.D. Wilder & Scott Moore won their 2nd Masters Pro doubles gold together (and first since Cincinnati in May 2023) by coming out of the loser’s bracket to beat David Spearman & John Moorin in the final.
- Women’s Masters Pro Doubles: Jenny Reifeis & Connie Burnett each won their 2nd Masters gold medals on the APP, topping favorites and #1 seeds Pam Gilbert & Sue Johnston in the final.
- Mixed Masters Pro Doubles: Triple Crown winner David Spearman, one of the most prolific gold-medal winning Masters pros, teamed with Kristin Hickman to take the Mixed Masters Pro gold.
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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, everyone is taking a break next weekend for Easter, then we start to pick back up the week following with the MLP draft and a very busy 4/7 weekend that features both the APP and PPA tours in action (APP in Delray Beach, PPA in Cary North Carolina). In addition, there’s a DUPR intercollegiate event in Atlanta and a big Golden Ticket event in Mesa.
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