Latest news with #AssociationofPickleballPlayers
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Will Howells Secures A Rare Triple Crown At The Association Of Pickleball Players Fort Lauderdale Open
Howells joins an elite list of players who have Triple Crowned on the APP. The Association of Pickleball Players (APP) held its first 'major' tournament of the year this past weekend at its Fort Lauderdale 'The Fort' headquarters. Nearly 1,000 pros and amateurs descended on the facility, which also houses the sport's first ever dedicated youth and teaching academy. By the end of the weekend, we'd seen something we haven't seen on tour in a couple years; a male Triple Crown winner. We also saw something we haven't seen perhaps since the dawn of the tour: a gold medal winner in their tour debut. Exciting times for the APP. Click here for the home page for the event, where you can get tournament details, draw sheets, and results. Well, they say to be the best, you have to beat the best. Christopher Haworth had won the last eight (8) straight APP Pro Singles titles, but he could not stretch that streak to nine at the APP's headquarters. Will Howells, who has just one prior APP singles gold, has been mired with tough early-round matchups and has struggled to get to the podium for months. However, he had his breakthrough, topping Howells in the semis with relative ease 9,8 to earn his second gold medal match in the last three events. There, he met Grayson Goldin, who made his sixth gold medal match in the past calendar year. Goldin last won a gold in Cincinnati in May, but could not hold back Howells on this day. The pair split the first two games in close 15-13 fashion before Howells tore away in the decider 15-5. Other notable results included Irizarry getting a very early upset of top-4 seed DeHeart and Dusty Boyer downing Purple Jesus Manthou to earn a rare quarterfinal appearance. Gold: Will Howells. Silver: Grayson Goldin. Bronze: Christopher Haworth Kao stuns the field and wins in her pro debut. The Women's singles draw was rocked early when former touring tennis pro Katerina 'Kat' Stewart ousted No. 1 seed Megan Fudge in the 16s. Stewart fell in the subsequent round to the new phenom Sofia Sewing, but it should be interesting to see where the current No. 18 ranked pro can go. The story of this draw however was the performance of Taiwan star Pei Chuan Kao, who has been a fixture in Indian events and MLP Australia for months now and who was playing in her first known US-based event. Kao opened with a win over No. 11 Seed Klokotzky, then downed the legendary No. 6 seed Jardim, both in three. In the quarters she ousted the No. 3 Seed Hendry, then handled fellow upset-minded Warren in the semis to secure an unlikely spot in the finals. In the final, Kao did the unthinkable, beating the two-time defending champ Sewing in two games 15-11, 17-15 to win perhaps the most unlikely gold medal in APP history. Gold: Pei Chuan Kao. Silver: Sofia Sewing. Bronze: Judit Castillo Erik Lange, who had never medaled in Mixed in his APP career, teamed with the formerly unknown Kao and went on a spirited run through the draw. They met their end in the semis at the hands of the No. 2 Seeds Megan Fudge & Jack Munro, who were trying to get back to the winner's circle for the fourth time as a team. Meanwhile, the top dogs and defending APP event champs No. 1 Will Howells and Bobbi Oshiro made fast work of their competition and secured the Sunday final from the topside of the bracket. In the final, Howells & Oshiro dominated Fudge & Munro 4,6 to give Howells his second gold medal on the day. Gold: Howells & Oshiro. Silver: Fudge & Munro. Bronze: Braverman & Schenk The No. 1 seeds Will Howells & Jack Munro emerged from the top half of an upset-laden draw that saw the defending silver medalists and No. 2 seeds Lange & Manthou get destroyed in the round of 32 at the hands of Max Green & Jordan Chrysostom 11-1, 11-9. Similarly, the No. 3 seeds DeHeart & Livornese were ousted in the 16s by the No. 14 seeds William Sobek and Eduardo Irizarry, who then continued their run to the final from a depleted bottom side. In the gold medal match, Howells & Munro were not to be stopped, crushing the underdogs 11-0 in game one and then holding on for a 13-11 game two win and the title. It's Munro's fifth Men's Pro doubles title in the last year, but more importantly the win sealed a rare feat; the Triple Crown for Will Howells. Howells becomes the 5th ever man to win a triple crown on the APP tour, following in the footsteps of Ben Johns (Sept 2020 and Mar 2021), Jay Devilliers (Aug 2021), JW Johnson (three Triple Crowns between March and August 2022), and Zane Navratil (May 2022). Gold: Howells & Munro. Silver: Sobek & Irizarry. Bronze: Barrientos & Kawka. Newell (L) and Cederquist win in Fort Lauderdale. Singles titlist Kao's gender doubles run ended early in the round of 16, at the hands of Sofia Sewing and Shelby Bates. Sewing and Bates weren't done; they turned around the next round and took out the top seeds Fudge & Braverman in three. This opened a pathway from the topside for the legend Simone Jardim to cruise into the final with partner Amanda Hendry. From the bottom side, favorites and No. 3 seeds Susannah Barr & Bobbi Oshiro were shocked 11-0, 11-9 in the round of 16 by Florida teenager Alexa Schull, partnered with Leah Tauber. They made it to the semis before falling, a solid showing. In the final, Jardim & Hendry met No 2. seeds Emily Cederquist & Yana Newell, who have quietly risen the rankings and now sit individually No. 3 and No. 6 on tour. Cederquist & Newell took the title 6,10, their first gold medal together since July 2024. Gold: Cederquist & Newell. Silver: Jardim & Hendry. Bronze: Sewing & Bates. 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, Collegiate Nationals are this coming weekend, along with a Golden Ticket event at Legacy Park in Mesa, a site that's been in the news this week thanks to fraud indictments against its founders. After Next up for the APP? The Vlasic Classic in Cincinnati the second weekend of May.
Miami Herald
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Protective eyewear seen as a necessity for pickleball players
Soren Morales wasn't expecting what was about to happen. Morales, a 52-year-old native of Nicaragua who lives in Miami, was struck in his right eye by a pickleball that flew errantly off the paddle of his doubles partner. The accident happened on Jan. 22, 2024. 'I went down like somebody had knocked me out,' Morales said. 'I had major pain.' Morales went to his eye doctor, and she said he had a scratched cornea. 'She gave me some drops to reduce the pain,' Morales said. 'She also recommended I wear protective glasses or goggles. 'She also mentioned that she has seen more patients with eye injuries lately, and it's all due to pickleball.' These days, Morales is playing pickleball with protective eyewear, and it's something he highly recommends for everyone. 'If you don't do it, you are putting your eyes at risk,' Morales said. 'You may not think that eye injuries happen, but there are plenty of videos online that show players getting hit in the face. 'I was hesitant to come back playing with (eyewear), but, if you look at the top pros, a lot of them wear goggles or glasses.' One of those top pros is Bobbi Oshiro, a 30-year-old native of Hawaii who played tennis at Boise State before moving to South Florida eight years ago. Toward the end of 2020, she played pickleball for the first time. She and a partner lost to a couple of 'older gentlemen,' and that did not sit well with Oshiro. 'I thought, 'This should not happen,'' Oshiro said. Oshiro then bought her first paddle, and the rest is history as she finished 2024 ranked No. 1 in the APP (Association of Pickleball Players) Tour in mixed doubles, top-five in singles and top-10 in women's doubles. This past November, she traveled to Arizona and won the singles title and partnered with Will Howells to win the mixed-doubles championship. She also threw out the first pitch for a Marlins game last year. Oshiro plays with protective eyewear, but she forgot to put them on several months ago … and she paid the price. On this particular day, she took a swing and the ball somehow came off the side of her paddle and hit her left eye. 'Fortunately, I was OK,' Oshiro said. 'But it was very painful.' Oshiro said it took a couple of weeks for her to adjust to using protective eyewear, but it's been well worth the trouble. 'Outdoors, they act like sunglasses and can help protect you from the harmful effects of the sun,' Oshiro said. 'It also enhances your vision of the ball -- kind of makes it appear bigger.' Protective eyewear can be found at your local sporting goods store – Dick's sells a pair (brand name Head) for $11.99. If you prefer to shop online, you can find a vast selection, including brand name Joola, which are the ones used by Oshiro. When playing indoors, clear glasses with anti-reflective coating are recommended. You want to get as much light as possible to your eyes, and nothing can do that better than clear glasses. Anti-reflective coating is needed to guard against glare that is sometimes a problem with indoor lighting. When playing outdoors, there are many choices in regards to the color of the lens. If you want to go deep with your research, there are a multitude of other factors such as impact rating, frame material and UV protection. Oshiro said paddle technology is improving rapidly, which translates to players hitting with more force. That leads to more eye injuries. 'I 100-percent recommend protective eyewear,' Oshiro said. 'I'm seeing a lot more women wearing them – not as many men. 'Forgetting your protective eyewear could be dangerous. I forgot that day, and look what happened. 'Since then, I always wear them, and that's the best decision I've ever made on a pickleball court.'
