The PPA just finished its last tour stop before the LAPIPLASTY Worlds in Dallas next month. The PPA Las Vegas Rate Championships were HOT—both in terms of play and the literal weather.
It was in the mid-90s every day, and the sun was super intense. Because of this, the ball played a little slower than normal.
Since it was an Open-level competition, the “regular draw” was something new this week. The last two tournaments used progressive draws, and while I prefer those, this change-up made for some different entertainment storylines.
Top Storylines
Quang Duong Earned His First PPA Gold
Duong has been rising through the ranks this year in two ways. At the beginning of 2024, he established himself as a top-10 PPA Men’s Singles player, earning two quarterfinals and three RD16 finishes in his first five events.
Midway through the year, Quang earned two medals. In his sixth tournament of the year, he secured his first medal—a silver—after beating Ben Johns and Jaume Martinez Vich to reach the finals in PPA Houston. He eventually lost to Federico Staksrud in the final. A few months later, he took bronze in PPA Sacramento, beating Dylan Frazier 11-7, 11-1 in the bronze medal match.
Duong has been nursing an ankle injury but showed no signs of mobility problems in Las Vegas. His bracket was made easier by a major upset—16th-seed Roscoe Bellamy defeated 2nd-seed Ben Johns in three games in the RD16. Duong faced a tough opponent in his RD16, Hunter Johnson, who has been on a tear. He managed to win 12-10, 12-10.
Quang quickly dispatched Michael Loyd in the semifinals, winning 11-2, 11-2. Loyd was a first-time semifinalist, beating Greg Dow, Claudio Quinones Garcia, Aanik Lohani, and Mota Alhouni.
In the final, Quang took control late in both games, winning 11-9 and 11-8. If you rewatch the match's ending, you can see how much this win meant to the youngster.
This win is also huge for his chances of making it to the CIBC Finals. Quang was seventh going into Vegas in singles, holding on to one of the last spots. With his 1,000 points, Duong leapfrogs McGuffin, Jaume, and Dylan Frazier into fourth place, solidifying his spot in the Finals.
The Most Epic Women’s Doubles Battle Was Fought
There’s a saying: it’s only a rivalry if both teams win. We’re officially witnessing the start of a rivalry in women’s doubles on the PPA Tour.
A month ago at the Atlanta Slam, Rachel Rohrabacher and Anna Bright BEAT Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau in four games. Last week at the Virginia Beach Cup, Anna Leigh and Catherine returned the favor, beating "The Girlies" in three games.
I expected more of the same this Sunday. But at the event, I watched Anna and Rachel warm up and saw a level of tenacity in Rachel I hadn’t seen before. I knew we were in for a battle.
This match had everything—lobs for days, suspenseful dink rallies, speedups, full-swing counters—you name it, it happened.
In what I would describe as the best match I’ve ever seen in person, Anna Leigh and Catherine won in five games, with OT in the fifth. The final score was 10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10.
The craziest part? The Girlies had a match point at 10-9 in the fifth game but couldn’t get to the kitchen line. You could feel the momentum shift as that happened.
Rivalries are great for any sport, and this one is no different. While the edge is still with Anna Leigh and Catherine, the gap between them and Rachel and Anna is narrowing.
If you only have time to rewatch one match from the weekend, make it this one.
Kate Fahey Earned Her Second Gold
A late withdrawal by Anna Leigh Waters opened up the entire women’s singles bracket, and Kate Fahey took full advantage, earning her second gold of the year in singles.
In one of the best Round of 16 matches all season, Fahey faced Kaitlyn Christian in a clash of titans. The scoreline was 10-12, 13-11, 11-3. What a barn burner! But Fahey wasn’t done.
She then beat Ava Ignatowich in the quarters and faced the newly emerging Genie Bouchard. Kate easily won the first game, 11-2. The second game, however, was a thriller, going all the way to 16-14 in favor of Bouchard. But that tough test was too much for Bouchard, and Kate pickled her 11-0 in the third.
On Sunday, Kate struggled in game one of the finals against Brooke Buckner, looking like a fish swimming upstream. Down big in game two, 5-9, she caught fire. Having already used both her timeouts, she rattled off six straight points to win 11-9. In game three, it was a tight back-and-forth, but Fahey edged her friend for the victory, 11-8.
Fahey’s desire and mental toughness make her a fierce competitor, and it shows in her results. Here’s a crazy stat: Fahey has only played eight PPA Tour singles events this year. Her first two didn’t go well, but since then, her worst finish has been 11th. Her other results? Two golds, two silvers, and a bronze.
In fact, Fahey has been so electric she could make the CIBC Finals while playing less than half the events of the other women. With this win, Fahey earned 1,000 points, and here’s what 8th through 12th place looks like:
Fahey is only 600 points behind Mary Brascia with two events left. Since I’m in Vegas watching, I’m betting Fahey makes the Finals.
Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson and Collin/Ben Johns Faced Off for the First Time in 2024—in the Finals
Read that again. That headline is not a typo. Remember all those epic battles between these four? Well, they were all in 2023. They played each other for the first time in 2024 on Championship Sunday.
Ben and Collin had a DOMINANT weekend. In these regular draws, the Johns brothers are known for slow starts sometimes, but not this time. They crushed their opponents, 88-36, on Saturday.
On Sunday, it felt like 2023 all over again, with the Johns brothers wearing down Dylan and JW, who had no answers. They won 11-9 in the first and followed it up with two more quick wins: 11-3 and 11-4.
Ben and Collin are officially back, having won two tournaments in the last month and making the finals of another. They’re firing on all cylinders at just the right time.
Up next? Worlds and the CIBC Finals.
Full Results
Women’s Singles
🥇 Kate Fahey
🥈 Brooke Buckner
🥉 Catherine Parenteau
Men’s Singles
🥇 Quang Duong
🥈 Connor Garnett
🥉 Federico Staksrud
Mixed Doubles
🥇 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns
🥈 Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson
🥉 Etta Wright/Christian Alshon
Women’s Doubles
🥇 Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters
🥈 Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright
🥉 Lucy Kovalova/Lea Jansen
Men’s Doubles
🥇 Collin Johns/Ben Johns
🥈 Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson
🥉 Matt Wright/Federico Staksrud
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