PPA Fasenra Sacramento Open Tournament Preview

The Life Time Arden is hosting its second PPA tournament within a seven month period. This time though, the paddles the players are utilizing have the most updated technology. In late September, 2025, the Life Time Arden hosted the Vintage Sacremento Open, which showcased wooden paddles.

The second to last tournament of the PPA Tour’s 2025-2026 season is underway in the Golden State’s capital of Sacramento. There are 1,000 PPA Points on the line for the winners of each event. As a reminder, the PPA Tour has moved all tournaments this year to progressive draws.

Weather Outlook

With lows in the upper 40s/lower 50s and highs in the 70s, the weather could not look much better for the Sacrament Open. Winds may become an issue, and Sunday could cause some problems with precipitation, but unlikely.

How to Watch the PPA Sacramento Open

Tuesday & Wednesday - Rd of 64 and Rd of 32

• PPA Streamed Courts

Thursday, April 16 - Rd of 16

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court & Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Friday, April 17 - Quarterfinals

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court & Grandstand Court - pickleballtv

Saturday, April 18 - Semifinals

• 1pm - 9pm ET - Championship Court - pickleballtv

Sunday, April 19 - Championship Sunday

• 1pm - 7pm ET - Championship Court (Gold medal matches) - pickleballtv
• Noon - 4pm ET - Grandstand Court (Bronze medal matches) - pickleballtv

Top Storylines

Quite a few of the top players have chosen to skip this event to rest and get ready for the upcoming Atlanta Pickleball Championships. Players such as Anna Leigh Waters, Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Christian Alshon, Jay Devilliers, and more are not playing in this event. Personally, I like when this happens because it causes some new and different partnerships to form, even if it is just for one tournament.

JW Johnson won gold in both mixed doubles and men’s doubles in this event in September, but hasn’t had the 2026 he would have liked - can he find some gold against in Sacramento in 2026?

This is the first tournament for Chris Haworth being the #1 seed in men’s singles. It will be interesting to see how he handles that pressure and how long he is able to maintain the #1 seed.

Let’s get into each individual draw.

Women’s Singles

Top Storylines

• It is a cliche at this point, but whenever Anna Leigh Waters is not in the draw, it feels like anyone has a chance
• That’s not really true here, as I don’t see anyone outside the top 7 seeds winning, but those top 7 seeds are really wanting to play well in Sacramento
• Kate Fahey is the #1 seed and consistently makes it deep in tournaments (four silver medals this year in the states), but has not won gold year - is this her tournament to do so?

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Kate Fahey, (6) Kiora Kunimoto, (2) Kaitlyn Christian, and (3) Lea Jansen
• Finals: Kate beats Kaitlyn in the finals in two games

Men’s Singles

Top Storylines

• Chris Haworth is the #1 seed for the first time on the PPA Tour - how will he handle the pressure?
• Ben Johns is playing singles because he isn’t playing mixed doubles (with Anna Leigh skipping), so in order to have this event count, he has to play singles - and he has a ridiculously tough draw if he wants to make the finals - JW Johnson, Jack Sock, Chris Haworth, and then Hunter Johnson
• With no Christian Alshon in the draw, Connor Garnett is the #4 seed despite not medaling on tour in over seven months - can he find some winning ways in Sacramento?

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Chris Haworth, (7) Gabe Joseph, (2) Federico Staksrud, and (5) Roscoe Bellamy
• Finals: Haworth beats Fed in three in the finals

Mixed Doubles

Top Storylines

• JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson are the #1 seeds, with Anna Leigh and Ben not playing, but they only have two bronze medals to their name in the entirety of 2026 - is Sacramento a launching pad for the siblings?
• Parris Todd and Andrei Daescu are the #2 seed and they are also Columbus Sliders teammates in MLP and they are looking for gold
• I like the pairings of (3) Gabe Tardio and Rachel Rohrabacher and (4) Eric Oncins and Tyra Black
• LA Mad Drops teammates Max Freeman and Catherine Parenteau are teaming up as the 9 seed, presumably to get some reps together, as the MLP season is right around the corner

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Jorja and JW Johnson, (3) Rachel Rohrabacher/Gabe Tardio, (2) Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu, and (4) Tyra Black/Eric Oncins
• Finals: Parris and Andrei defeat Jorja and JW in the finals in four games

Women’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters are not playing in this draw and every team playing is grateful - they have not lost in over 200 days
• An intriguing pairing is #5, Tina Pisnik and Cailyn Campbell - I have not seen them together before
• Rachel and Parris are teamed up together again, which forced Catherine Parenteau to have to go find a partner, and she went and got Meghan Dizon

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black, (7) Allyce Jones/Jamie Wei, (2) Rachel Rohrabacher/Parris Todd, and (4) Lacy Schneemann/Kate Fahey
• Finals: Rachel and Parris beat Jorja and Tyra in the finals

Men’s Doubles

Top Storylines

• Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio haven’t lost together in 2026, including a recent trip to Vietnam
• Fed and Andrei are teaming up in this one as the three seed and look to be dangerous
• Eric Oncins and Dylan Frazier are usually the 5 seed, but in Sacramento they are the 4 seed, which boosts their odds of making the semis much higher 

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Ben Johns, (3) Federico Stakrsud/Andrei Daescu, (2) CJ Klinger/JW Johnson, and (4) Dylan Frazier/Eric Oncins
• Finals: Gabe and Ben take out CJ and JW in four games