Partners

Anna Leigh Waters is the number one pickleball player in the world, and she's just 18 years old. Anna Bright is her fiercest rival at number two and in the fast moving world of professional pickleball, she's gotta make moves and shake up allegiances to keep up. On the business side, the PPA faces its most critical season yet.

At home and abroad, pickleball stars embrace the limelight. Ben Johns has been at the top since the early days, but challengers are on his heels. Christian Alshon is confident and brash and has Ben's number one spot in his sights. Meanwhile, Quang Duong and his father Duc have big plans for pickleball in Asia but tension with PPA C.E.O. Connor Pardoe.

Partnerships are blooming on and off court and Hunter Johnson and Parris Todd have been deemed pickleball's power couple. Their on and off court friend Jaume Martinez Vich is a known playboy from Spain who puts their relationship to the test. Quang and Duc Duong's battle with the PPA front office comes to a head.

As the 2025 season progresses, it's clear that pro pickleball is on the rise both in tournament attendance and fan engagement. For singles star Kate Fahey, that attention is a double edged sword after an infamous paddle smash on her head lights the internet on fire. Gabe Tardio is a 19-year-old star from Bolivia whose partnership with Ben Johns has turned into a recipe for success.

Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin are a volatile team atop the leaderboard in men's doubles and their quick ascension and descension has put a strain on their partnership. At 48, Matt Wright is still ranked among pickleball's best, but Father Time and a surge of youth are knocking at his door.

Over the past five years of the PPA tournaments, Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns have been the consistent champions regardless of how the game has evolved. As partnerships shuffle around them to bring them down, they both look to the future for what's in store for pro pickleball in the seasons to come.