By Tyler Irvin │ July 29, 2022
Selkirk Labs is once again taking the game to the next level on August 5-7 with a unique tournament, showcasing never-before-seen matchups and featuring 24 top pros from around the world, live on Selkirk TV, PPA TV and the Tennis Channel.
The pickleball world could witness:
- Dream Partnerships: Tyson McGuffin/Ben Johns; Anna-Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau; Jay Devilliers/Callie Smith
- Partners turned enemies: Ben Johns vs Collin Johns (Johns-on-Johns crime); Matt Wright vs Lucy Kovalova; Jay Devilliers vs Tyson McGuffin
- Rekindled connections: Jessie Irvine/Jeff Warnick; Ben Johns/Matt Wright
Format: The tournament starts with 24 top pros split into three groups of eight players, where they will play in a rotating partners format of gender doubles and mixed doubles. Then, the top 16 players (eight men and eight women), based on points and wins, will be split into four teams of four players (two men and two women). Those teams will square off in the semi-final on Saturday, leaving the finals for championship Sunday.
Pool 1:
- Ben Johns; Jay Devilliers; Federico Staksrud; Callan Dawson,
- Lucky Kovalova; Jessie Irvine; Allyce Jones; Kasandra Gehrke
Ben Johns is making his long-awaited return after a two-month long hiatus, where he last took silver at the PPA Atlanta Open in men’s doubles with his brother Collin Johns. Since his absence Tyson McGuffin and Matt Wright have been crowned the No. 1 singles and men’s doubles players, respectively. Johns will be looking to show that he remains in top form as seen here:
Other PPA staples are coming back after a month-long break like Frenchman Jay Devilliers, Callan Dawson, Jessie Irvine, and Lucy Kovalova, while Federico Staksrud and Kasandra Gehrke have stayed more active by competing in other tournaments.
The Argentina-born Staksrud, has had a ridiculous year in singles so far, but will need to shift his focus to doubles if he wants to stand on the podium on Sunday.
Pool 2:
- Tyson McGuffin; Tyler Loong; Patrick Smith; Ben Newell
- Catherine Parenteaul; Leigh Waters; Lea Jansen; Meghan Dizon
Tyson McGuffin is in a unique position, being grouped with some of his semi-regular partners: Tyler Loong, Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau. While McGuffin usually teams up with Devilliers in men’s doubles, he has played with Loong in two out of the last three tournaments, taking silver with the lefty in May in North Carolina.
In addition, McGuffin will get to play with and against two of his mixed partners this year in Waters and Parenteau. McGuffin/Parenteau got on the podium by way of bronze at the Minto US Open in April, while McGuffin/Waters are still searching for hardware.
Speaking of partnerships, Parenteau is grouped with her 2022 women’s teammate Lea Jansen, who have podiumed three times together this year. Their last medal was a bronze at the last PPA tournament.
Pool 3: AKA “The Pool of Death”
- Matt Wright; Collin Johns; Jeff Warnick; Ryan Sherry
- Anna-Leigh Waters; Callie Smith; Cierra Gaytan-Leach; Yana Grechkina
The moment pickleball fans have all been waiting for, a reunion between Matt Wright and Jeff Warnick, who exchanged a lot of words the last time they met on-court. Wright was in a tough grueling match against Warnick last tournament, with Warnick letting Wright hear it every time he made a mistake or a ball went past him.
Ryan “Sherbear” Sherry, who is possibly the most entertaining pickleball player out there, will fit right into the banter that Wright and Warnick will provide.
This pool also features 15-year-old phenom, Anna-Leigh Waters, who has been on a wrecking spree this year and Collin Johns, who has created a name in his own right as the fourth-ranked men’s doubles player on the PPA Tour. Not to mention Callie Smith, who is coming off a gold and bronze-medal performance with Kovalova and AJ Koller, respectively.
Where to Watch
All pool play matches for this exclusive event will stream live on Selkirk TV, pickleball’s only original and FREE TV app, as well as the PPA Livestream.
Download the Selkirk TV app here: https://urlgeni.us/selkirktv
Watch Selkirk TV on your computer here: https://www.selkirk.com/pages/tv
The Tennis Channel will provide live Semi-Final Coverage on Saturday, August 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT and finals coverage on Sunday, August 7th at 10:00am PT.
