Before Saturday’s rain arrived, the finals were set in all five pro divisions of the Professional Pickleball Association’s second Virginia Beach Cup.
Anna Leigh Waters is aiming for a triple repeat at the Pickleball Virginia Beach complex and is in good position for it. Ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, the 18-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida, will play for the championship in each division.
Action is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Sunday with the five championship matches in the following order: mixed doubles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles and women’s singles.
Friday, Waters advanced to the mixed final alongside Ben Johns. They’ll face No. 2-seeded siblings JW and Jorja Johnson.
In singles, Waters downed No. 3 Parris Todd 11-3, 11-4, and No. 4 Brooke Buckner — a 33-year-old from Concord, North Carolina — upended No. 2 Kaitlyn Christian 12-10, 3-11, 11-5.
In women’s doubles, Waters and Anna Bright breezed past No. 3 Jade Kawamoto and Catherine Parenteau 11-1, 11-3, and No. 2 Jorja Johnson and Rachel Rohrabacher rallied past No. 5 Allyce Jones and Etta Tuionetoa 9-11, 11-7, 11-3.
In men’s singles, former Virginia Cavaliers tennis player Christian Alshon of Boca Raton, Florida, advanced to likely his most prestigious final. Seeded fourth, he outlasted Spain’s Jaume Martinez Vich 4-11, 11-5, 12-10 to advance to the championship match against the week’s biggest surprise, at least in terms of seeding: No. 15 Christopher Haworth of Edmond, Oklahoma. Haworth relegated No. 6 Jack Sock to the bronze-medal match by edging the former tennis star 11-4, 11-13, 13-11.
In men’s doubles, No. 1 seeds Gabriel Tardio and Johns and No. 4 CJ Klinger and JW Johnson advanced to the title match. The third-place match, scheduled to pit No. 3 Alshon and Andrei Daescu against No. 8 Jay Devilliers and Matt Wright, was canceled.
Combined with the many amateur divisions, about 1,000 players entered the tournament, giving the event a festive atmosphere. Some of the area’s top competitors are playing in those brackets.
