PPA Australia Pickleball Cup: Hunter Johnson Wins Brisbane, Tardio and Black Double Up
Top seed Hunter Johnson edged Christian Alshon in a three-game men's singles final in Brisbane, while Gabe Tardio and Tyra Black each left the PPA Tour's biggest Australian event with two gold medals.
Hunter Johnson's first trip to Australia ended with a title. The top seed held off Christian Alshon 11-8, 5-11, 11-8 in the closing match of the WALKER Australia Pickleball Cup in Brisbane on Sunday 18 October, while Gabe Tardio and Tyra Black each collected two gold medals at the PPA Tour's biggest Australian stop.
A final decided at the death
Johnson reached the final without dropping a game, working through Kyle Stoker, Daiki Tanabe, Hong Kit Wong and Grayson Goldin. Alshon made him earn it at Pat Rafter Arena. After Johnson raced to a 7-0 lead in the deciding game, Alshon reeled off eight straight points to lead 8-7, before Johnson closed out the final four points. Afterwards he celebrated with an "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!" chant and told reporters he plans to come back.
It continues a strong October for Johnson, who beat Ben Johns in straight games at the Las Vegas Open earlier in the month.
Championship Sunday results
- Men's singles: [1] Hunter Johnson def. [3] Christian Alshon, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8
- Women's singles: [7] Andie Dikosavljevic def. [4] Judit Castillo, 11-6, 11-6
- Men's doubles: [1] Gabe Tardio / Hayden Patriquin def. [2] JW Johnson / Tama Shimabukuro, 3-11, 11-6, 11-7
- Women's doubles: [1] Tyra Black / Jorja Johnson def. [2] Parris Todd / Danni-Elle Townsend, 11-5, 11-6
- Mixed doubles: [3] Tyra Black / Gabe Tardio def. [4] Parris Todd / Christian Alshon, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7
A home win for Dikosavljevic
The most popular result in the arena came in women's singles. Andie Dikosavljevic, a Brisbane resident and former Auburn University tennis player, won the title as the seventh seed. Her semi-final against Sahra Dennehy was the tightest match of her week: she dropped the first game and then took the decider 12-10. In the final she was rarely troubled by Judit Castillo.
Doubles: comebacks and double gold
Both the men's doubles and mixed finals were won from a game down. Tardio and Patriquin were swept aside 11-3 in the opener by JW Johnson and Tama Shimabukuro before turning the match around, with Ben Johns absent from the draw. Tardio then partnered Black to beat Todd and Alshon in three games, leaving Alshon with two silver medals for the week. Black's other gold came alongside Jorja Johnson, in the only straightforward doubles final of the day.
Local players also made their mark. Dennehy reached the women's singles semi-finals, Townsend took silver in women's doubles, and Harrison Brown beat Zane Navratil 11-6, 11-4 before falling to Goldin.
The Paddle Dept. take
Three of the five finals went to a deciding game, and the turning points came from the player who stayed solid under pressure, not the one hitting hardest. Johnson's late recovery after letting a 7-0 lead slip is a useful reminder for club players: control and consistency win long rallies when the score tightens. If you're weighing up a paddle built for that kind of play against a more power-focused option, our Compare a Paddle tool sets the specs side by side.
Next up, the PPA Tour heads to Hong Kong, before the Pickleball World Championships in Texas in early November.
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