CINCINNATI, OHIO – MAY 12: Simone Jardim celebrates with the trophy and her gold medal after winning … [+] a Women’s Singles pro match during the final day of the 2024 APP Vlasic Classic – Cincinnati at Sawyer Point Pickleball & Tennis Courts on May 12, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/The APP/Getty Images)
APP/Getty Images
This past weekend, the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) held its 2024 APP Vlasic Classic – Cincinnati event on the grounds of the iconic Sawyer Point courts along the Ohio River on the Ohio/Kentucky border. This event was the second event in the Vlasic Pickle company’s partnership with the APP, the first being held in early April in Del Ray Beach. This event was also a USA Pickleball Golden Ticket event and featured nearly a 1,000 registrants competing.
The APP has been in the news a lot lately, announcing a forthcoming partnership with ATP Sports to pivot to their software platform and rating system in the future. We’ll be covering that with some analysis/opinion in the coming weeks, but for today we’re recapping the pro event. The competing MLP event and some recent contract signings meant a somewhat thinned field for Cincinnati, but that usually means surprise finalists and first-time winners, which we all root for.
Indeed, that’s what we got; 3 first time winners (Goldin, DeHeart, Lane) and another 4 first time medalists (Ford, Cullen, Bock, Grambeau)
Click here for the PickleballBrackets.com home page for the event, where you can get tournament details, draw sheets, and results.
Let’s Recap the action.
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Grayson Goldin takes his first APP gold medal, winning Pro Singles.
APP
Men’s Pro Singles Recap
#1 seed Jack Foster looked to capitalize on his US Open gold medal last month and secure his first ever APP gold. He’s won eight medals previously in APP Men’s Pro singles, dating back to the very earliest events in May of 2021, but has never gotten gold. Unfortunately, he ran into a buzz-saw named Grayson Golden, who came out of nowhere to secure the silver medal at the APP Miami Open two months ago and who topped Foster in the semis in two games. Foster rebounded in the Bronze match to secure his ninth pro medal, but an APP singles gold still eludes him.
The bottom half featured two double-digit seeds clearing out all the top seeds to meet in the semis. #10 Zane Ford took out #2 DeHeart and #7 Livornese to get to the semis, while #19 Stephen Madonia took out #3 Sobek and #6 Camron. In that semi, Ford came back from a game-1 loss to secure a spot in the final and guarantee his first ever pro medal. Madonia fell in the bronze and missed out on a chance to earn his first medal.
In the final, Goldin indeed went one step further than he did in Miami and claimed the gold in a three-game thriller against Ford, who despite the loss gets a silver for his debut APP pro podium.
Gold: Grayson Goldin. Silver: Zane Ford. Bronze: Jack Foster.
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Women’s Pro Singles Recap
The women’s draw featured a couple of 20-something seeds getting early round upsets (#24 Yana Newell and #23 Madalina Grigoriu over #8 Shannon Pretorius and #7 Hannah Blatt respectively), but the semis were essentially chalk. #5 Simone Jardim turned back the clock in the first semi, beating #1 Megan Fudge in three close games to make the final and secure her first singles medal on the APP since Aug 2022. It’s been more than three years since Jardim last won a singles event on the APP (March of 2021 in Del Ray Beach). Fudge salvaged the Bronze for the weekend to not leave empty handed.
From the bottom half, a battle between #2 Amanda Hendry and #3 Shelby Bates lived up to expectations, with Hendry advancing in two close games. Amanda ensures that this weekend will be her career best result and she earns a singles medal for the first time since this Cincinnati event last year.
In the final, the original G.O.A.T. of the sport Jardim fought back from a first game loss to claim her first gold medal of 2024, and amazingly just her second ever pro singles medal on the APP.
Gold: Simone Jardim. Silver: Amanda Hendry. Bronze: Megan Fudge.
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Mixed Pro Doubles Recap
The Mixed draw didn’t feature too many surprises. Bravo to Simone Jardim, who teamed with Champions division player Jamie Oncins and reached the quarter finals before falling to the #3 seeds. The semis featured four of the top five seeds as expected.
From the top half, #1 Megan Fudge & Rob Nunnery were upset by #5 Yana Newell & Brendon Long in one semi, while #2 Susannah Barr & Brandon Lane survived their third straight tiebreaker win while topping #3 Allison Harris & Andre Mick. Fudge & Nunnery salvaged the bronze, the second bronze in as many days for Fudge.
In the final, Barr & Lane dominated for stretches and cruised to a two game win over Newell & Long. It’s Long’s first ever APP gold, and its Barr’s first medal mixed pro doubles medal since last fall.
Gold: Barr & Lane. Silver: Newell & Long. Bronze: Fudge & Nunnery.
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Men’s Pro Doubles Recap
CINCINNATI, OHIO – MAY 12: William Sobek and Casey Cullen in action during a Men’s Pro Doubles match … [+] during the final day of the 2024 APP Vlasic Classic – Cincinnati at Sawyer Point Pickleball & Tennis Courts on May 12, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/The APP/Getty Images)
Getty Images/APP
When the field is thinned in a pro pickleball draw, we often see weaker seeds in the 8-16 range get taken out by teams in the 20-30 seed range because the difference between a regularly touring mid-teen seed and a top-notch non-full time touring team of pros is razor thin. In Cincinnati we saw several examples: #25 Ben Newell & Erik Pailet took out a qualifier and then the #8 seed to then face off against the top seeds #1 Ryler DeHeart & Rob Nunnery. We also saw deep runs from #19 Roman Estareja & Drake Palm and from #21 Zack Taylor & Tanner Tomassi, who all eventually fell to top 8 seeds in the quarters. Newell & Pailet nearly pulled off an even bigger upset against the top seeds, but fell 13-11 in a game-three heart breaker. Nunnery (usually a right sided player) teamed with the lefty DeHeart to beat #5 Jack Foster & Jason Bock to secure a gold medal appearance from the top half of the draw late Saturday evening.
The bottom half saw its #2 and #3 seeds upset early, leaving #6 William Sobek & Casey Cullen taking on #7 Brandon Lane & Jayden Broderick for a shot at the gold medal match in the semis. The two teams played a tight match that could have gone either way, but Sobek & Cullen advanced 12-10, 13-11 in two over-time games to advance to the final.
In the final, the veteran team of Nunnery & DeHeart held on against their younger rivals Sobek & Cullen in a three game affair to claim the title. Foster & Bock claimed the Bronze. Amazingly, this is Ryler DeHeart’s first ever pro gold medal, and it’s Nunnery’s first medal since parting ways with Daescu. Meanwhile, both Cullen and Bock earn their first ever APP pro medals.
Gold: Nunnery & DeHeart. Silver: Sobek & Cullen. Bronze: Foster & Bock.
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Women’s Pro Doubles Recap
Despite a large women’s doubles draw, we saw precious few upsets as compared to the Men’s gender doubles competition. There was just one upset-by-seed in the opening round (#18 over #15), and the round of 16 went completely chalk, with all top 8 seeds advancing. There we finally got some surprise results, with #6 Jillian Braverman & Emily Ackerman taking out #3 Yana Newell & Megan Fudge in a 13-11 third game thriller in the quarters. Jilly B kept it going with her new partner Ackerman, then cruising past #2 Susannah Barr & Bobbi Oshiro 6,9 to make the final. A Braverman/Ackerman team is probably better than #6 talent wise, and they proved it on the courts.
Meanwhile, the top half went according to seeds, with #1 Allison Harris & Simone Jardim cruising past #4 Kelsey Grambeau & Amanda Hendry to advance to the gold medal match themselves. In the final, #1 Harris & Jardim survived a back and forth three game affair to capture the gold. It’s their second gold medal playing together (they also took Women’s Pro Doubles gold last September in New Jersey), and Harris’ second gold altogether on tour. Jardim turns back the clock and gets the double on the weekend. Grambeau & Hendry get the bronze; its Grambeau’s first pro medal.
Gold: Jardim & Harris. Silver: Braverman & Ackerman. Bronze: Grambeau & Hendry
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AARP Champions (Senior 50+) Pro Competition Quick Recap
Men’s Champions Pro Singles: #2 Rick Witsken, who took a triple crown here last year, took the first step towards a repeat of the feat by topping #1 Mattias Johansson in the final.
Women’s Champions Pro Singles: Dana Wiatroski, the singles Champion gold medalist in Miami in March, took the round robin competition to claim gold in Cincinnati.
Men’s Champions Pro Doubles: Rick Witsken teamed with top ranked Champions pro Jamie Oncins to take the Men’s Doubles pro title and finish the double for the weekend. He didn’t enter Mixed, so no chance at a repeat triple crown.
Women’s Champions Pro Doubles: Lee Whitwell teamed up with Angela Simone and continued her dominant debut on the Champions tour, winning her fourth straight APP Women’s Champions pro doubles title.
Mixed Champions Pro Doubles: Lee Whitwell & Jamie Oncins each finished off a “double double” for the weekend, cruising to the Mixed Champions pro doubles title together. It’s their 5th Mixed title in 5 tries together in 2024.
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AARP Masters (Super Senior 60+) Pro Competition Quick Recap
There were no Masters competitions in Cincinnati.
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The Pro Pickleball Medal Tracker has now been updated with these results; check out this link online for a complete pro medal history for all tours and all pro events dating to the beginnings of all the major pro tours, plus pro events that predated 2020.
Next up on the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, the PPA
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF
is in action as we speak in Atlanta, on the backs of last weekend’s MLP event.
Next up for the APP tour? The big one: the NYC Open Major is in two weekends on the grounds of the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
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