PPA Fasenra Sacramento Open 2026 [Results, Stats, Upsets, Videos]
The PPA Tour rolled into Northern California for the Fasenra Sacramento Open presented by Zimmer Biomet, and I was in the stands Friday to watch it unfold in person.
Over 986 players registered for the 1,000-point event at Life Time Arden from April 13 through 19, and by Championship Sunday, the tournament had delivered first-time partnerships on the podium, a first gold of the season for Federico Staksrud, a quarterfinal paddle throw that went into the stands, and yet another men's doubles gold for Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio.
Federico Staksrud claimed his first men's singles gold of the 2026 season with an 11-4, 11-2 final win over Zane Ford, then dedicated the trophy to fellow pro Grayson Goldin, who is recovering from two strokes suffered in February 2026.
Ben Johns and Tardio took down JW Johnson and CJ Klinger for their latest men's doubles gold together. And in one of the more unexpected results of the weekend, first-time partners Eric Oncins and Hurricane Tyra Black won mixed doubles over the top-seeded Johnson siblings.
I watched quarterfinals day in person on Friday. The California sun was relentless by the time the afternoon matches started, the venue itself was gorgeous, and parking was, politely, a disaster. I also had Ben Johns sign my Pikachu plush (PPA Kachu, as he is now known in my car).
Here are the matches I caught from the stands on Friday:
- Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio vs. Jaume Martinez Vich and Blaine Hovenier in the men's doubles quarterfinal (the Tardio ATP I still cannot believe in person)
- Chris Haworth vs. Jack Sock in the men's singles quarterfinal (the #1 seed going out early)
- Hunter Johnson vs. Zane Ford in the men's singles quarterfinal (the paddle-into-the-stands incident I covered below)
- Kiora Kunimoto vs. Catherine Parenteau in the women's singles quarterfinal
- Parris Todd and Rachel Rohrabacher vs. Lea Jansen and Callie Smith in the women's doubles quarterfinal
- Tina Pisnik and Cailyn Campbell in their women's doubles quarterfinal run
And 11 PICKLES, we're all here for all of it. Let's break it all down.
PPA Fasenra Sacramento Open 2026: Final Results
Championship Sunday was packed. Here is how every podium shook out.
Men's Singles
Gold: Federico Staksrud def. Zane Ford (11-4, 11-2)
Silver: Zane Ford
Bronze: Roscoe Bellamy
This is Staksrud's first men's singles gold of the 2026 season, which had started to feel long for the tournament's #2 seed. Zane Ford reaching the gold medal match at a 1,000-point event is the other headline here. The young American pushed through the top half of the draw, including the Friday quarterfinal over Hunter Johnson that I watched from the stands. More on that in the storylines section below.
Staksrud was the steadier player when the stakes were highest. Ford had to beat Hunter Johnson in the quarterfinal and win a semifinal on Championship weekend to get to Sunday's gold medal match, and the physical toll showed in the final.
Worth noting: Chris Haworth entered Sacramento as the #1 seed, his first-ever top seed on tour. Haworth plays with the Luzz Pro 4 Tornazo, which he calls his "naso" (use code 11pickles for 15% off at checkout). I watched his quarterfinal loss to Jack Sock in person, and it was the match that cracked the top half of the draw wide open. Sock, the former tennis pro, covered the court with the kind of first-step speed that does not usually show up at this level of singles anymore.
Women's Singles
Gold: Kate Fahey def. Kaitlyn Christian (11-3, 11-0)
Silver: Kaitlyn Christian
Bronze: Lea Jansen def. Kiora Kunimoto
Fahey and Christian entered Sacramento as the #1 and #2 seeds and held serve all week. Fahey's path was not easy. In the semifinal, she had to get through 17-year-old Kiora Kunimoto, who had already taken out Catherine Parenteau in the quarterfinal. I will get into the Kunimoto arc in the storylines section below, because it was the biggest singles story of the weekend for me.
Men's Doubles
Gold: Ben Johns / Gabe Tardio def. JW Johnson / CJ Klinger
Silver: JW Johnson / CJ Klinger
Bronze: Andrei Daescu / Federico Staksrud def. Jack Sock / Pablo Tellez (11-9, 11-5)
Johns and Tardio opened their Friday QF against Jaume Martinez Vich and Blaine Hovenier, which was the match I watched from the baseline seats. Tardio hit a running around-the-post that I caught on video and still cannot believe happened at full speed. He was on the dead run, the ball was already past the post, and he flicked it back for a clean winner. The ATP is one of the most difficult shots in pickleball. Tardio made it look like a drill.
The Johns/Tardio partnership has been the most dominant doubles team of 2026 by a wide margin, and they continue to be the team to beat every week the PPA plays.
Women's Doubles
Gold: Parris Todd / Rachel Rohrabacher def. Jorja Johnson / Hurricane Tyra Black (11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6)
Silver: Jorja Johnson / Hurricane Tyra Black
Bronze: Tina Pisnik / Cailyn Campbell def. Catherine Parenteau / Megan Dizon (Parenteau/Dizon withdrew mid-match due to injury)
This is the title I most wanted to see land. Todd and Rohrabacher lost the women's doubles final at the ppa sxy newport beach open 2026 results to Bright/Waters in three straight games. This time, with Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright both sitting out, they turned a runner-up into a gold.
Their quarterfinal against Lea Jansen and Callie Smith was the match I watched up close on Friday. Rohrabacher was the engine. She stayed patient in the resets, sped up only when the ball was above the net strap, and kept Jansen from getting any rhythm on the speed-ups.
Mixed Doubles
Gold: Eric Oncins / Hurricane Tyra Black def. JW Johnson / Jorja Johnson (11-7, 6-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8)
Silver: JW Johnson / Jorja Johnson
Bronze: Parris Todd / Andrei Daescu def. Kate Fahey / Federico Staksrud (11-8, 11-6)
The most surprising gold of the weekend. Oncins and Black paired for the first time in Sacramento and went the distance against the top-seeded Johnson siblings, winning a full five-game match 11-7, 6-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8. The Johnsons swung momentum in the middle games, but Oncins and Black held their serve in the fifth and closed it out. Black had a triple-impact weekend that I will cover in the storylines section. The Johnson siblings have been the #1 mixed doubles team in the world for most of 2026, and first-time partners do not usually beat them, especially not from down two games to one.
A few notable names sat Sacramento out. Their absences shaped almost every bracket:
- Anna Leigh Waters, the women's singles winning-streak holder and a triple-crown threat at every event
- Anna Bright, the other half of the dominant Bright/Waters women's doubles team is traveling in Asia after the PPA Hanoi.
- Christian Alshon, the men's singles bronze medalist from Newport Beach and a regular top-four men's doubles contender
- Hayden Patriquin, the rising American men's singles player who has been in most 2026 semifinals
That context is essential for reading the Sacramento results. Todd/Rohrabacher winning women's doubles gold, for example, means something different when Bright and Waters are home vs. when they played and lost. I am writing this tournament as it actually played, and I will flag the missing context rather than pretend it was not there.
Biggest Upsets and Storylines
This was a weird weekend. Seeds fell early, tempers flared in the middle rounds, and first-time partnerships walked away with gold. Here are the storylines that shaped Sacramento.
The Hunter Johnson Paddle Incident in the Quarterfinals
I need to start with this one, because it happened while I was there.
In Hunter Johnson's quarterfinal match against Zane Ford on Friday, Johnson threw his paddle in frustration after a lost point, and it went into the stands and struck a fan. From what I saw, the fan was not seriously hurt. Johnson received an on-court penalty from the officials, and play resumed. He finished the match but lost the quarterfinal to Ford, exiting Sacramento before Championship Sunday.
That is the extent of what I can say with certainty. A pro throwing a paddle into the stands is a serious moment, and it deserves serious reporting rather than speculation. I will update this section when the PPA issues any official statement or fine.
For context on why this mattered inside the tournament: Ford went on to win the semifinal off the back of that result and reached the gold medal match, where he lost to Staksrud 11-4, 11-2. You could argue the penalty did not change the outcome. You could also argue that throwing a paddle into the crowd at a 1,000-point event, regardless of intent, warrants a bigger conversation about what the Tour will and will not tolerate. I will leave that one for a follow-up article.
Staksrud's Gold, Dedicated to Grayson Goldin
Sacramento was Staksrud's first gold of 2026. The 11-4, 11-2 win over Zane Ford in the final was a clinic in what Staksrud does best: making opponents play one extra ball than they want to. He dragged Ford into long rallies, reset every speed-up that landed too high, and waited for the young American's passing shots to start leaking wide. Ford's first career PPA gold medal will come. It just was not today.
What made the post-match interview stand out was what came after the pickleball. Grayson Goldin, another PPA pro, was hospitalized earlier in the week after suffering two strokes. Staksrud used his on-camera moment to send love, not to talk about himself.
"We love Grayson, we love having him here on the tour, so we're hoping for a quick recovery." -Federico Staksrud, post-match interview after the Sacramento Open men's singles final
As someone who plays every day, I have watched the tour get heavier over the last 18 months. More injuries, more withdrawals, more players openly talking about burnout. A gold-medal interview that leads with a teammate's health instead of the trophy is the kind of thing that keeps this sport feeling human.
Kiora Kunimoto Is the Next Thing in Women's Singles
Here is the singles storyline I will be telling people about for months.
Kiora Kunimoto, 17, arrived in Sacramento as the #6 seed and left with a statement run. In the quarterfinals, she knocked out Catherine Parenteau, one of the most consistent top-five women's singles players on tour. That is the match I watched on Friday. Kunimoto is already one of the cleanest two-handed backhand drivers in women's singles, and she hits it up the line with a confidence that does not match her age.
She eventually lost to Kate Fahey in the semifinal, then dropped a heartbreaker in the bronze medal match to Lea Jansen, winning the first game and holding a 10-6 lead in the second before losing the match. She finished fourth.
Watch (Instagram): VA to embed @ppapickleball's Kunimoto vs. Parenteau quarterfinal clip once it is posted. If it is not up by publish, substitute the Friday stands footage I uploaded to the 11 PICKLES Instagram.
Her bracket path tells the story better than the final placement:
- Quarterfinal: def. (4) Catherine Parenteau (the Friday upset I watched from the stands)
- Semifinal: lost to (1) Kate Fahey
- Bronze medal match: lost to (3) Lea Jansen
The bigger story is that Kunimoto is now consistently taking games off the top-five players, and if she keeps this pace through the summer, she is going to be a problem for every top seed by the US Open.
Her 2026 goal is to be drafted by an MLP team and sharpen her doubles game. She has been picked up by the California Black Bears. This is not a one-tournament flash.
Tina Pisnik and Cailyn Campbell: 29 Years Apart, One Doubles Run
One of the feel-good moments of the weekend was watching Tina Pisnik, 44, pair up with 15-year-old Cailyn Campbell for women's doubles. Pisnik is a former WTA pro. Campbell is one of the youngest pros on the PPA main draw. They are 29 years apart in age and they played like they had been running stacks together for years.
I watched a piece of their Friday bracket run in person. Pisnik is a veteran at poaching the middle ball and resetting out of dinks. Campbell's ceiling is high, and you could see Pisnik actively coaching her in between points on positioning. For a sport that is leaning harder and harder on athleticism, this was a reminder that experience and shot selection still win pickleball matches. They reached the women's doubles semifinal before bowing out to Todd/Rohrabacher, the eventual gold medalists.
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The Eric Oncins Ball-Blowing Call (Again)
Oncins drew a technical warning in his men's doubles quarterfinal against Pablo Tellez and Jack Sock for blowing on the ball. Head Referee Don Stanley made the call on court, and it was flagged as unsportsmanlike conduct.
If this were the first time, it would be a weird-but-funny tournament moment that lives on X for an afternoon and disappears. It is not the first time. Oncins had a similar ball-blowing moment weeks earlier at the PPA Hanoi Cup, and Sacramento made it two events in a row with the same behavior drawing the same kind of attention.
The warning did not derail his weekend, he still took mixed doubles gold with Hurricane Tyra Black in five games on Sunday. What it does do is put the PPA in a position where it has to clarify, publicly, what counts as gamesmanship versus legal technique. "Blowing the ball" is not in most rec players' vocabulary, and if pros are being called for it on stream twice in three weeks, the tour owes its audience a line in the sand. If you are a top-ten doubles player who does this regularly, Sacramento just put you on notice.
Ben Johns Is the Most Talented 11-Seed in PPA History
Johns entered Sacramento as the #11 seed in men's singles, which is the lowest he has been seeded in any singles draw in his career. He is mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the 2026 PPA Finals in singles because he has played so little singles over the last 12 months.
On the doubles side, he is still Ben Johns. The Johns/Tardio partnership routed every doubles field it entered in 2026, and Sacramento was another gold for the pair.
If you want to measure how the men's singles draw has flattened out, Ben Johns getting the #11 seed and not reaching a semifinal in some 2026 events is your data point.
Player of the Tournament
Hurricane Tyra Black.
Black had the kind of weekend that changes a career. She took silver in women's doubles with Jorja Johnson after a four-game final against Todd/Rohrabacher. Then she won mixed doubles gold in her first tournament partnering Eric Oncins, coming back from down two games to one to take the top-seeded Johnson siblings in five. Two medals in two days, across two different brackets, with one brand-new partnership.
First-time mixed doubles partnerships do not usually win gold at 1,000-point events. First-time partnerships against a Johnson/Johnson team on Championship Sunday win it even less often. Black's ability to adjust her stack, her serves, and her left-side coverage in a matter of days is the kind of adaptability that translates into a lot of gold medals.
Rising Stars to Watch
- Kiora Kunimoto (17): Already taking out top-five singles players. Her backhand up the line is a weapon. If her serve keeps getting heavier, she is a US Open semifinalist threat this summer. Why it matters: the women's singles top four (Waters, Fahey, Parenteau, Christian) has been locked for two seasons. Kunimoto is the first real credible challenger.
- Cailyn Campbell (15): Paired with Pisnik in Sacramento and did not look 15. Her hands at the net are already above-average pro level. Why it matters: the youngest generation of women's doubles talent is maturing faster than any in the sport's history.
- Zane Ford: Reached the men's singles quarterfinal and played three full games in high pressure on Championship weekend. Why it matters: Ford and Hayden Patriquin are the two young Americans most likely to enter the top 10 singles rankings in 2026.
- Eric Oncins: Mixed doubles gold with Black in a first-time partnership, plus a men's doubles run with Dylan Frazier. Why it matters: Oncins went from a rotational pick in 2025 to a two-event contender in 2026. Brazilian pickleball is having a real moment.
- Hurricane Tyra Black: See Player of the Tournament above. Why it matters: she is now the clear third option for a mixed doubles partner behind Waters and Jorja Johnson, and potentially the first option with the right partner.
The women's bracket, in particular, is widening. Waters and Bright sat this one out, and instead of a chalk week, we got a teenager to the WS semifinal, a 15-year-old pro in WD, and a first-time mixed partnership winning gold. And honestly? The depth is only getting real now.
What Is Next
The PPA Tour heads to Georgia next for the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships, April 27 through May 3, 2026, at Life Time Peachtree Corners. Pro event registration closed April 20, qualifying rounds run Monday, and Championship Sunday airs on PickleballTV. Storylines to watch heading into Atlanta.
- Can Staksrud extend this gold into a hot streak in Atlanta, or does another top seed flip the men's singles narrative?
- Does Kate Fahey and Kaitlyn Christian's duopoly hold up once Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright return to the draw?
- Will the Black/Oncins mixed partnership stick for the next event, or was this a one-tournament look?
- How does the Tour respond to the Hunter Johnson paddle incident, if at all?
- Does Eric Oncins get a heavier penalty or a public clarification from the PPA after a second ball-blowing technical in as many events, and does he change his approach in Atlanta?
On the merch side, the 11 PICKLES Etsy shop has new drops each month, including the Sacramento-friendly heat tees and the Pikachu-inspired paddle covers that I have already put in my bag (ask me about the PPA Kachu). Take a look at the 11 PICKLES Etsy shop for the newest gear, and subscribe to the 11 PICKLES newsletter for tournament recaps and drop alerts.
FAQ
Who Won the PPA Fasenra Sacramento Open 2026?
Federico Staksrud won men's singles, Kate Fahey won women's singles, Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio won men's doubles, Parris Todd and Rachel Rohrabacher won women's doubles, and Eric Oncins and Hurricane Tyra Black won mixed doubles. The tournament ran April 13 through 19, 2026 at Life Time Arden in Sacramento, California.
What Was the Hunter Johnson Paddle Incident at Sacramento 2026?
During Hunter Johnson's men's singles quarterfinal loss to Zane Ford on April 17, 2026, Johnson threw his paddle in frustration after a lost point, and it went into the stands and struck a fan. Per eyewitness accounts, the fan was not seriously hurt. Johnson received an on-court penalty, finished the match, and did not advance past the quarterfinal. The PPA has not yet released an official statement or fine as of publish.
Who Is Kiora Kunimoto and Why Did Her Sacramento Run Matter?
Kiora Kunimoto is a 17-year-old women's singles player who entered Sacramento as the #6 seed. Her quarterfinal upset over Catherine Parenteau, one of the top-ranked women's singles players on tour, put her in the semifinal against Kate Fahey. She finished the weekend in fourth place after losing the bronze medal match to Lea Jansen. She has been picked up by the California Black Bears for the 2026 MLP season. She is the most credible new challenger to the Waters/Fahey/Parenteau/Christian women's singles top four.
When Is the Next PPA Tournament After Sacramento?
The PPA Tour moves to Georgia next for the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships, April 27 through May 3, 2026, at Life Time Peachtree Corners in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Pro event registration closed April 20, 2026, and qualifying rounds run Monday, April 27. Championship Sunday is May 3.
Where Was the PPA Fasenra Sacramento Open 2026 Held?
The Fasenra Sacramento Open presented by Zimmer Biomet was held at Life Time Arden in Sacramento, California. It was the second consecutive year the PPA Tour used this venue. The tournament ran from April 13 through 19, 2026 and featured 986 registered players across the pro and amateur fields.
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