Super Sunday

If Opening Day Sunday is any indication, the loss of most of pickleball’s biggest stars did nothing to temper the enthusiasm at the 2023 US Open Pickleball Championships at East Naples Community Park. In fact, a record number of attendees braved summer-like heat and humidity to enjoy a full day of singles action that actually ran overtime. Fittingly, the final two matches, the Women’s Pro Singles and the Men’s Pro Singles finals, were the best matches of the day.

Event organizers - and founders - Chris Evon and Terri Graham were tired yet enthusiastic when the final shot was fired around 9:30 PM.

“It was a long, long day,” an exhausted Terri Graham said with a proud smile. "You know, you start out with an hour and 15-minute rain delay. On our first day, the whole crew had to get going and dry all the courts. But everybody did a great job. It went really fast. We started a little behind, but they caught up good. And then some of those pro matches just took a long time. So yeah, here we are at 9:30."

In January, Evon and Graham learned they would be without most of Pickleball’s star power when most of its big names announced to be no-shows this year. It’s all part of the fallout of the two pickleball tours, the APP and the PPA. For their part, Evon and Graham are taking the high road.

“We feel like this event is so good,” Evon said, "and the players that are playing in this event are really great athletes. And it's kind of nice, I think, for people to be seeing some new talent coming up. And these people are hungry. You know, they want to win a US Open title. So far, for Sunday, they're putting on a great show. So we'll see. I think that's kind of indicative to how the rest of the week is going to go. I think we're just going to have great matches. And I just don't think we're going to miss a beat with it.”

Sunday is normally the slowest day of the week at the US Open. It was different this year. The parking lot filled up early. Overflow parking at nearby Sugden Park was overflowing, with cars lining the side of the road.

“We had record crowds here today,” Graham said, shaking her head in wonder. "I mean, this is Singles Sunday. This is supposed to be our lower, slower day. There had to be 2,000 people in this park today. It was crazy. Just incredible. This event keeps getting bigger and bigger. Right when we think there's no way this is going to get bigger, it gets bigger.”

The highlight of Singles Sunday was the Women’s Pro Singles match which was a three-game marathon between newcomer Parris Todd and Judit Castillo Gargallo. 

“That Women's Pro final,” Graham said, "had to be a record. An hour and 40-something minutes. It was an awesome match.”

Todd, a 24-year-old former tennis player, outlasted Gargallo, 8-11, 11-6, 15-13, in a match that saw lead changes right down to the wire. Todd saw a commanding 10-7 lead in the finale quickly turn into an 11-10 deficit. But she didn’t fold under the pressure.

“As athletes,” Todd said, "this is what we train for - these hard-fought wins. So it's just so much more meaningful than just an easy win. I was up 10-7. But you know, with pickleball you only have match points when you're on serve. There's so many momentum shifts and changes. So you have to stay on your toes, and it can change at any minute. You just have to be on top of every single point.”

After falling behind 11-10, Todd fought back to take a 12-11 lead, only to see Gargallo surge ahead 13-12. After Gargallo tied things up at 13-13, Todd took the final two points for the win.

“It’s really fun to have those back-and-forth points,” Todd said, “and it's exciting for the crowd.”

The crowd was also entertained in the Men’s Pro final when twin brothers Hunter and Yates Johnson duked it out. In the end, Hunter Johnson prevailed, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2.  Hunter Johnson appeared to have a little more gas left in the tank than his twin brother.

“It's pretty frustrating,” Yates Johnson said, "because it's just back and forth, and we both wanted it bad. And yeah, he was just too good.”

“I feel as fresh as a daisy,” Hunter Yates joked. "We always joke, you know, we're playing in a mirror. I'm playing the same person out there. And so we have the same game styles. We're both at the same level. So it's always really a tough battle. It's an exciting day for both of us. I mean, just to be in the finals is really special."

The Men’s Senior Pro Singles final was a contrast of styles, with quiet-natured Paul Olin’s controlled game besting the outgoing Rick Witsken and his flashy, whirling dervish-style game, 11-6, 11-0. The Women’s Senior Pro Singles final saw Jennifer Dawson taking an easy 11-1, 11-1 win over Leslie Bernard.

The US Open plays all week with Championship Saturday wrapping things up. The Women’s Pro, Men’s Pro and Mixed Pro finals are slated for Saturday evening.