The PPA Tour is again in motion from the Mission Hills Nation Membership in Rancho Mirage, California. The Carvana Masters Powered by Invited is the primary PPA Tour match within the 2026 12 months.
Referred to as each a fan and participant favourite, the Masters kicks the 2026-year off in a giant method, since it’s a Slam stage occasion. That’s proper, 2,000 PPA Tour Factors are on the road for the winners of every occasion.
There’s something particular concerning the Masters – the venue is wonderful and the gamers carrying all white appears to raise the occasion’s standing as one of the elite on tour.
Easy methods to Watch the Masters
Tuesday, January 13 – Rd of 128 & Rd of 64
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Grandstand Courtroom – pickleballtv
Wednesday, January 14 – Rd of 32
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Grandstand Courtroom – pickleballtv
Thursday, January 15 – Rd of 16
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Grandstand Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 7pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – FS2
Friday, January 16 – Quarterfinals
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Grandstand Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 7pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – FS2
Saturday, January 17 – Semifinals
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Championship Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 1pm – 9pm ET – Grandstand Courtroom – pickleballtv
- 6:30pm – 8:30pm ET – Championship Courtroom – FS1
Sunday, January 18 – Championships
- Midday – 2pm ET – Championship Courtroom – CBS
- 2pm – 6pm ET – Championship Courtroom – FS2
- Midday – 4pm ET – Grandstand Courtroom (Bronze matches) – pickleballtv
- 7pm – 9pm ET – Championships Replay – FS1
Climate Outlook for the Masters
Lows within the higher 50s and highs within the low 80s – are you able to consider any higher pickleball climate? This is among the many causes the Masters has grow to be a staple this time of 12 months on the PPA Tour.
There are many storylines headed into the occasion, so let’s get into them.
Can Anna Leigh Waters make it 5 in a row?
Anna Leigh Waters has triple topped the final 4 occasions she performed in all three occasions – can she make it 5 in a row?
The tempo of Anna Leigh Waters’ successful is simply absurd. In 2025 she misplaced a complete of six matches. Six matches. Two occasions with Ben Johns in combined doubles and 4 occasions in girls’s doubles. Waters hasn’t misplaced in nicely over 100 days. Can she begin 2026 as dominant as she ended 2025?
Gamers are going to be enjoying with some totally different paddles
We all know Anna Leigh Waters has gone from Paddletek to Franklin. Over the weekend, it was introduced that Chris Haworth left Babolat for Luzz. Rachel Rohrabacher has left Selkirk for Friday paddles. Take a look at all of the paddle drama at Alex E. Weaver’s article for The Dink:
Monitoring All of the New Professional Paddle Offers in 2026
A brand new 12 months means a ton of high execs are signing recent paddle sponsorship offers – right here’s what we all know thus far
Questions that also want solutions: Is Anna Leigh going to announce an attire sponsor for the Masters? Will some other huge names signal with Luzz?
Will Howells is making his PPA Tour debut (form of)
Technically, Howells has performed six PPA Tour occasions, spanning from late 2023 by mid 2024. Nonetheless, This match marks the primary time Howells performs on the PPA Tour as an solely signed participant.
Whereas Howells is finest recognized for his play in MLP with the 5s, He’s beginning the 2026 12 months off with a giant drawback: he has zero PPA Tour Factors. That hasn’t stopped him from partnering with some top-notch expertise, as he’s enjoying with Rachel Rohrabacher and Noe Khlif (his 5s teammate) for the foreseeable future.
There’s a huge associate swap in males’s doubles
In 2025, there grew to become what many people within the business known as “the massive 4” partnerships in males’s doubles. It was uncommon when one of many under partnerships did not make the semis or quarterfinals:
- Gabe Tardio & Ben Johns
- Christian Alshon & Andrei Daescu
- Federico Staksrud & Hayden Patriquin
- CJ Klinger & JW Johnson
Nonetheless, for the Masters (and no less than the primary half of 2026), Alshon and Staksrud are swapping locations. Alshon goes to be enjoying alongside Hayden Patriquin, whereas Staksrud goes to be enjoying with Daescu.
To be trustworthy, I’m not certain how a lot a distinct this transformation goes to make for any participant concerned. The truth is, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the partnerships swap again to the 2025 variations after the 2026 MLP season in the summertime.
Parris Todd is suspended for this occasion
It was broadly documented that Parris Todd was suspended from one PPA Tour occasion, one MLP occasion, and fined $50,000 for her half in an abroad journey with different gamers in Japan. Todd is ranked tenth in girls’s combined doubles, sixth in girls’s doubles, and fifth in singles. This suspension will most assuredly drop her out of the highest 10 in girls’s combined doubles.
Due to the suspension, each Meghan Dizon (picked up Alix Truong) and Dekel Bar (picked up Jackie Kawamoto) needed to discover new companions for the Masters.
Let’s get into the attracts.
Girls’s Singles
Prime Storylines
- Anna Leigh hasn’t misplaced in singles in 592 days – if she wins the Masters, she may have made it over 600 days with out dropping a match in singles
- Fahey, Christian, Buckner, and Jansen are all in search of a win over Waters to get them off to a scorching begin in 2026
- (19) Jamie Wei is a decrease seeded participant I may see making a run on the Masters, however she is probably going going to need to undergo Judit Castillo and Genie Bouchard to take action
Predictions
- Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Kaitlyn Christian, (2) Kate Fahey, and (4) Brooke Buckner
- Finals: Anna Leigh beats Fahey in three
Males’s Singles
Prime Storylines
- Males’s singles proved to be the hardest occasion to win in 2025, as there have been eight totally different winners on tour within the final 20 occasions
- Regardless of being the #1 seed, Hunter Johnson hasn’t received in over six months
- (6) Chris Haworth has moved up 51 spots in seeding over the past six months and is aiming to realize the #1 general seed in 2026
- Ben Johns is NOT enjoying singles on the Masters
Predictions
- Semifinalists: (8) Gabe Joseph, (6) Chris Haworth, (7) Jack Sock, and (9) Roscoe Bellamy
- Finals: Chris Haworth beats Roscoe Bellamy in two shut video games
Blended Doubles
Prime Storylines
- (1) Anna Leigh and Ben haven’t misplaced since April 2025, and in the event that they win this match they may go over 300 straight days and not using a loss
- Whereas I didn’t choose any of the highest 4 seeds to maneuver on to the semis in males’s singles, these high 4 seeds are going to be closely favored to take action
- (8) Fed and Kate Fahey are paired up for the Masters and the early a part of 2026
- Anna Shiny goes to primarily cut up her time enjoying within the US with Hayden Patriquin and Andrei Daescu
- In his debut, (18) Will Howells and Rachel Rohrabacher may face off in opposition to his 5s teammate, Meghan Dizon, within the Spherical of 32.
Predictions
- Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (4) Hurricane Tyra Black/Christian Alshon, (7) Jorja and JW Johnson, and (3) Anna Shiny/Hayden Patriquin
- Finals: Waters and Johns beat Shiny and Patriquin in 4 video games
Girls’s Doubles
Prime Storylines
- (2) Rachel Rohrabacher and Catherine Parenteau are paired up for 2026 and will undoubtedly make some noise – the query is: have they got sufficient hearth energy to beat AL and AB?
- There’s a philosophy on the market (I imagine it) that it’s most likely simpler to beat the highest seed in finest two out of three, quite than within the finals – Hurricane Tyra Black and Jorja Johnson will possible have that chance within the semis
- The Kawamoto twins (Jackie and Jade) received their first ever gold medals collectively in 2025 – can they make the finals on this one?
Predictions
- Semifinalists: (1) Anna Shiny/Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Jorja Johnson/Hurricane Tyra Black, (2) Catherine Parenteau/Rachel Rohrabacher, and (4) Jade & Jackie Kawamoto
- Finals: Waters and Shiny beat the Kawamotos in three
Males’s Doubles
Prime Storylines
- (1) Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns had an outstanding 2025 – Ben is the reining champion on this occasion, as he received it final 12 months together with his brother Collin – the final time they performed collectively on the PPA Tour
- As I already talked about, Hayden and Christian are enjoying collectively and Andrei and Fed are enjoying collectively
- Newly signed teen, Will Mackinnon is thrown proper into the fireplace, enjoying with Riley Newman because the 11 seed
- One of many matchups I’m trying ahead to most is the potential Spherical of 16 match between (6) Matt Wright/Jaume Martinez Vich and (12) Pablo Tellez/Jack Sock – this one may get spicy
Predictions
- Semifinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Ben Johns, (15) Will Howells/Noe Khlif, (2) Federico Staksrud/Andrei Daescu, and (3) Christian Alshon/Hayden Patriquin
- Finals: Tardio and Johns beat Fed and Andrei in three video games
