The PPA Tour heads Down Below this week for the 2026 WALKER Australia Pickleball Cup, going down October 14–18 on the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane, Australia.
The occasion brings collectively a number of the greatest names on the PPA Tour and lots of of Australia and New Zealand’s prime professionals for one of the vital worldwide tournaments in pickleball historical past.
With greater than $500,000 in prize cash and 1,500 rating factors obtainable to every champion, that is the most important prize purse ever supplied at an expert pickleball event in Australia.
The attracts characteristic some fascinating worldwide partnerships, a number of potential early-round upsets, and loads of alternatives for Australian gamers to make an announcement towards established American professionals.
Right here is the whole lot you might want to know heading into the Australia Pickleball Cup.
Three Storylines to Watch
1. Can the Australian Gamers Make Some Noise on House Soil?
The Australia Cup gives a uncommon alternative for Australia’s prime gamers to compete towards established American professionals with out touring midway world wide.
Gamers like (2) Sahra Dennehy, (7) Andie Dikosavljevic, (13) Mitch Hargreaves, and (25) Joey Wild of their respective singles attracts will likely be seeking to capitalize on the chance.
There are additionally a number of intriguing partnerships pairing Australian gamers with established American professionals, together with (7) Mitch Hargreaves/Collin Johns in males’s doubles and (5) Federico Staksrud/Danni-Elle Townsend in combined doubles.
What number of Australians could make it to the weekend?
2. Some Very Fascinating New Partnerships
Males’s doubles options a number of mixtures we do not often see on the PPA Tour.
(1) Gabe Tardio/Hayden Patriquin (St. Louis Shock teammates) headline the sector, whereas (2) Federico Staksrud/Christian Alshon, (3) Tama Shimabukuro/JW Johnson, and (4) Dylan Frazier/Connor Garnett create an fascinating assortment of potential semifinalists.
In girls’s doubles, (1) Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson and (2) Parris Todd/Danni-Elle Townsend (former Columbus Sliders teammates) are on reverse sides of the bracket.
The most important query is which of those partnerships can discover chemistry rapidly sufficient to make a championship run.
3. Enormous Rating Factors Out there With Two PPA Occasions Taking place Concurrently
The Australia Cup is a PPA1500 occasion, whereas the Virginia Seashore Open is a PPA1000 event.
With each tournaments taking place throughout the identical week, gamers needed to determine which occasion supplied the higher alternative to gather rating factors.
With the PPA World Championships approaching in November, a powerful efficiency in Brisbane might present a big increase within the rankings.
Climate Outlook for the Australia Pickleball Cup
The climate might be an element all through the event, with rain within the forecast on 4 of the 5 days.
Wednesday seems to be just like the warmest day, with a excessive of 79°F and an opportunity of thunderstorms. Thursday seems to be like the most effective day for pickleball, with principally cloudy skies and solely an 18% likelihood of rain.
Friday by Sunday might be more difficult, with morning showers doable every day. Hopefully the rain holds off and the event can keep on schedule.
Methods to Watch the Australia Pickleball Cup
All occasions listed are Japanese Daylight Time (EDT). Australia is 14 hours forward of Japanese time throughout the event.
Tuesday, October 13 – Spherical of 64 and Spherical of 32
- 8pm–4am ET – PPA Tour YouTube
Wednesday, October 14 – Spherical of 16
- 8pm–4am ET – PPA Tour YouTube
Thursday, October 15 – Quarterfinals
- 8pm–4am ET – PPA Tour YouTube
Friday, October 16 – Semifinals
- 8pm–4am ET – PPA Tour YouTube
Saturday, October 17 – Championships
- 8pm–2am ET – PPA Tour YouTube
The listed broadcasts run into the next morning in the USA. In Brisbane, the corresponding classes start at 10am Wednesday by Sunday.
Official PPA Tour broadcast schedule
Girls’s Singles
High Storylines
- (1) Kaitlyn Christian enters as the highest seed and will face (6) Yufei Lengthy within the quarterfinals. Christian has loads of expertise enjoying on the highest stage, however Lengthy might make that an fascinating matchup.
- (2) Sahra Dennehy has a good path into the quarterfinals, the place (5) Rika Fujiwara might be ready. Enjoying on residence soil provides one other component to Dennehy’s championship aspirations.
- (3) Kiora Kunimoto might face (7) Andie Dikosavljevic within the semifinals if each advance. Kunimoto is enjoying some excellent singles pickleball, however Dikosavljevic can have the house crowd behind her.
- (4) Judit Castillo might encounter (15) Danni-Elle Townsend within the Spherical of 16. The winner might ultimately face (8) Hannah Blatt within the quarterfinals.
Predictions
Semifinalists: (1) Kaitlyn Christian, (4) Judit Castillo, (2) Sahra Dennehy, and (3) Kiora Kunimoto.
Champion: Kaitlyn Christian defeats Sahra Dennehy within the ultimate.
Males’s Singles
High Storylines
- (1) Federico Staksrud enters as the highest seed and will face (13) Mitch Hargreaves within the Spherical of 16. A possible quarterfinal towards (6) Zane Ford can be a a lot harder take a look at.
- (2) Hunter Johnson is on the alternative facet of the bracket, the place both (8) Hien Truong or (9) Dylan Frazier might be ready within the quarterfinals. Johnson will need some revenge after getting booted early within the Chicago Cup by Emi Brunel.
- (3) Christian Alshon has an intriguing potential quarterfinal towards (5) Tama Shimabukuro. Each gamers have the offensive capability to take management of matches, making this one of many extra fascinating potential matchups on Friday.
- (4) Connor Garnett might face (20) Tyson McGuffin within the Spherical of 16, with (7) Hong Equipment Wong one other doable impediment in his part of the bracket.
Predictions
Semifinalists: (1) Federico Staksrud, (7) Hong Equipment Wong, (2) Hunter Johnson, and (3) Christian Alshon.
Champion: Hunter Johnson defeats Hong Equipment Wong within the ultimate.
Blended Doubles
High Storylines
- (1) Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson enter as the highest seeds and will face (6) Sahra Dennehy/Tama Shimabukuro within the quarterfinals. That may be a wonderful early take a look at for the Johnson siblings.
- (2) Jessie Irvine/Hayden Patriquin are an intriguing mixture, however might face (5) Federico Staksrud/Danni-Elle Townsend within the quarterfinals. That potential matchup options 4 gamers with very totally different enjoying kinds.
- (3) Parris Todd/Christian Alshon discover themselves in the identical quarter as (9) Andie Dikosavljevic/Joey Wild. The Australian pairing might make issues fascinating if each groups advance.
Predictions
Semifinalists: (1) Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson, (4) Tyra Black/Gabe Tardio, (2) Jessie Irvine/Hayden Patriquin, and (3) Parris Todd/Christian Alshon.
Champion: Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson defeat Parris Todd and Christian Alshon within the ultimate.
Girls’s Doubles
High Storylines
- (1) Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson headline the sector, however might face (5) Judit Castillo/Kiora Kunimoto within the quarterfinals. Castillo and Kunimoto have the power to make {that a} aggressive matchup.
- (2) Parris Todd/Danni-Elle Townsend are one of the intriguing partnerships within the draw. They might encounter (8) Jamie Haas/Kei Sawaki within the quarterfinals earlier than a possible semifinal towards (3) Sahra Dennehy/Jessie Irvine.
- (3) Sahra Dennehy/Jessie Irvine have a doable quarterfinal towards (7) Aiko Yoshitomi/Sophia Huynh. Dennehy and Irvine will likely be seeking to reap the benefits of their complementary enjoying kinds.
Predictions
Semifinalists: (1) Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson, (4) Nok Yui Tang/Yufei Lengthy (2) Parris Todd/Danni-Elle Townsend, and (3) Sahra Dennehy/Jessie Irvine.
Champion: Tyra Black and Jorja Johnson defeat Sahra Dennehy and Jessie Irvine within the ultimate.
Males’s Doubles
High Storylines
- (1) Gabe Tardio/Hayden Patriquin enter as the highest seeds, with (5) Eunggwon Kim/Hong Equipment Wong a possible quarterfinal opponent. It will likely be fascinating to see how the 2 gifted younger Individuals work collectively.
- (2) Federico Staksrud/Christian Alshon headline the alternative half of the bracket and will face (8) Kenta Miyoshi/Tom Protzek within the quarterfinals. Staksrud and Alshon deliver loads of singles firepower to the partnership.
- (4) Dylan Frazier/Connor Garnett have an fascinating potential quarterfinal towards (7) Mitch Hargreaves/Collin Johns. Hargreaves will likely be seeking to make a deep run in entrance of the Australian crowd alongside one of the skilled doubles gamers in skilled pickleball.
Predictions
Semifinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Hayden Patriquin, (3) Tama Shimabukuro/JW Johnson, (2) Federico Staksrud/Christian Alshon, and (4) Dylan Frazier/Connor Garnett.
Champion: Gabe Tardio and Hayden Patriquin defeat Federico Staksrud and Christian Alshon within the ultimate.
