PPA Veolia Texas Open 2026 [Results, Stats, Upsets, Videos]
Anna Leigh Waters won her 42nd career PPA triple crown at the Veolia Texas Open in McKinney, Texas, going 16-0 in matches and 35-1 in games across three brackets. That is dominance on a level that professional pickleball has never seen before, and she did it against wind gusts that exceeded 40 mph all weekend. The PPA Texas Open 2026 results confirmed what we already knew: Waters is in a league of her own.
But this was far from a one-player tournament. Federico Staksrud captured his second men's singles title of 2026, overcoming a brutal 2-11 first-game loss to Chris Haworth by adapting his game to the swirling Texas wind and taking the next two games with identical 11-5 scorelines. Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns extended their men's doubles win streak to 30 consecutive matches and six straight tournament titles, opening the final with an 11-0 demolition that silenced any doubt about their dominance. And Kate Fahey nearly pulled off one of the greatest comebacks of the 2026 season, scoring eight straight points after trailing 10-3 in the women's singles final before Waters closed the door.
I watched every match this weekend, and the wind was the story. This was not a normal outdoor tournament. The Courts of McKinney sits in an open complex in North Texas, and when those 40 mph gusts hit, the ball was dancing. Lobs became unplayable, drives drifted sideways, and every player had to recalibrate their entire game. Some adapted. Some did not. That is what made this tournament so compelling. And 11 PICKLES, we are all here for all of it. Let's break it all down.
PPA Texas Open 2026: Final Results
Championship Sunday delivered five stacked finals under those relentless Texas winds. Here is how every podium shook out at this 1,000-point event:
Men's Singles
Gold: Federico Staksrud def. Chris Haworth (2-11, 11-5, 11-5)
Silver: Chris Haworth
Bronze: Zane Ford (10 seed) def. John Lucian Goins (7 seed) (8-11, 11-5, 11-9)
Haworth jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first game and looked like he would run away with the title. Then Staksrud figured out the wind. He adjusted his positioning, shortened his backswing, and stopped fighting the gusts. The result was two identical 11-5 games that showed the kind of mid-match adaptation that separates elite players from very good ones.
This is Staksrud's second singles title of 2026 after winning the Carvana Mesa Cup. He also earned silver at the PPA SXY Newport Beach Open two weeks ago. The Argentine is playing the best singles of his career.
Women's Singles
Gold: Anna Leigh Waters def. Kate Fahey (11-4, 15-13)
Silver: Kate Fahey
Bronze: Lea Jansen (5 seed) earned bronze after Salome Devidze withdrew
Waters did not lose a single game in the entire singles draw. That is worth repeating: through every round, she won every game. The final against Fahey was the only match that got competitive, and it took Fahey scoring eight consecutive points from 3-10 down to make it happen. More on that incredible sequence below.
Men's Doubles
Gold: Gabe Tardio / Ben Johns def. Federico Staksrud / Andrei Daescu (11-0, 12-10, 11-7)
Silver: Federico Staksrud / Andrei Daescu
Bronze: Jaume Martinez Vich / Jay Devilliers
The 11-0 first game was a statement. Tardio and Johns came out firing on every ball, and Staksrud/Daescu could not find a single point. It was over before it started. The second game was much tighter at 12-10, which shows that Staksrud and Daescu adjusted, but Tardio and Johns found a way to close. They always do.
This was their sixth consecutive tournament title together and their 30th consecutive match win in 2026. They remain undefeated as a partnership this season.
Women's Doubles
Gold: Anna Leigh Waters / Anna Bright def. Alix Truong / Parris Todd (11-2, 11-6, 11-4)
Silver: Alix Truong / Parris Todd
Bronze: Catherine Parenteau / Rachel Rohrabacher
Waters and Bright are playing on another planet in women's doubles. They allowed an average of just 3 points per game at this tournament. Three. That is not a competitive match; that is a clinic. They remain undefeated in 2026, and the gap between them and every other women's doubles team keeps growing.
Truong partnered with her new Columbus Sliders (MLP) teammate Parris Todd for the first time. Making a final in their first tournament together is a strong sign for this new partnership, even if the result against Waters and Bright was one-sided.
Catherine Parenteau returned to competition after sitting out Newport Beach and earned a bronze alongside Rohrabacher.
Mixed Doubles
Gold: Anna Leigh Waters / Ben Johns def. Anna Bright / Hayden Patriquin (3 games to 1)
Silver: Anna Bright / Hayden Patriquin
Bronze: Parris Todd / Andrei Daescu
This was a revenge match. At the Mesa Cup three weeks ago, Bright and Patriquin swept Waters and Johns in the mixed doubles final. That loss clearly stuck with them. Waters and Johns came out with purpose, taking the match in four games and reclaiming the top spot in mixed doubles.
Between Waters and Johns, they combined for four of the five gold medals at this tournament. The only gold they did not win was men's singles, where Staksrud took the crown.
Biggest Upsets and Storylines
Staksrud Conquers the Wind and Claims His Second Singles Title of 2026
Federico Staksrud was down 0-8 in the first game of the men's singles final. Chris Haworth was hitting clean winners, finding angles, and taking advantage of the wind at his back. It looked like Staksrud would get run off the court.
Then something shifted. Staksrud stopped trying to overpower the wind and started playing with it. He shortened his backswing, moved closer to the baseline to take the ball earlier, and used the gusts to add depth to his drives instead of fighting against them. The adjustment was visible in real time. As someone who plays outdoors every day and knows how much wind can mess with your game, I can tell you that the ability to completely restructure your approach mid-match is an elite skill. Most players tilt when the wind is not cooperating. Staksrud used it as a weapon.
The next two games were identical: 11-5, 11-5. That kind of symmetry is not an accident. It shows total control over both the pace of play and his own composure. After the technical violation drama at Newport Beach, where frustration cost him in the semifinals, this performance was a redemption arc. He channeled his competitive fire into precision instead of emotion.
This is his second singles title of 2026 (he won the Mesa Cup) and his third podium finish in three tournaments. Staksrud is playing the most consistent singles of his career, and he is doing it against a stacked field.
Fahey Scores Eight Straight From 3-10 Down Before Waters Slams the Door
The women's singles final produced the most dramatic sequence of the entire tournament. Anna Leigh Waters took the first game 11-4 and raced to a 10-3 lead in game two. The match looked over. It was not.
Kate Fahey scored eight consecutive points to reach 11-10 and game point. Eight straight. Against the most dominant singles player in pickleball history. In 40 mph wind. The crowd at The Courts of McKinney was on its feet. Fahey was attacking the forehand side, changing the pace of her dinks, and forcing Waters into uncomfortable positions. For those eight points, she played the best pickleball of her career.
Then Waters saved game point. And she kept saving it. It took four match point attempts for Waters to finally close it out 15-13, but she never panicked. That is what makes her winning streak, now past 640 consecutive days, so remarkable. She does not just win. She finds a way to win when the opponent is playing their best.
I have been watching Waters since she first started dominating the PPA Tour, and this was one of the few times I genuinely thought someone might take a game off her. Fahey deserved better than a silver, but running into Waters in a final is the toughest draw in women's pickleball.
Wind Over 40 MPH Turned the Texas Open Into a Survival Test
This was not a storyline limited to one match. The wind conditions at The Courts of McKinney affected every bracket, every round, and every player differently. Gusts exceeded 40 mph throughout the weekend, and you could see the ball moving laterally in the air on overhead shots and lobs.
What made this tournament fascinating from a tactical standpoint:
- Lobs became high-risk, high-reward. A well-placed lob with the wind traveled 10 feet deeper than intended. Against the wind, lobs died mid-court and became easy putaways.
- Third-shot drops required constant recalibration. The margin for error on a soft drop into the kitchen shrank dramatically because the wind would either push the ball long or hold it up short.
- Players who played compact, low-to-the-net pickleball thrived. Those who relied on power and high-trajectory shots struggled.
Staksrud's mid-match wind adjustment in the singles final was the clearest example, but you saw it across every bracket. The players who won gold this weekend all shared one trait: they adapted fast.
In conditions like these, some players lean toward paddles with more forgiveness and control. The Luzz Pro 4 Inferno paddle is one example, which we covered in more detail in our Luzz Pro 4 Inferno paddle review. A 15% discount is currently available with code "11Pickles".
Anna Leigh Waters' 42nd Career Triple Crown Is Historically Absurd
Let's put Anna Leigh Waters' weekend in context. She entered three brackets. She went 16-0 in matches. She went 35-1 in games. The one game she lost was the second game of the women's singles final, and she still won that match. Her singles winning streak now exceeds 640 consecutive days.
This was her 42nd career PPA triple crown. Forty-two. No other player in pickleball history has more than a handful. She is not competing against the current field anymore; she is competing against her own records.
In women's doubles with Anna Bright, the partnership allowed an average of 3 points per game. In mixed doubles with Ben Johns, she got revenge for the Mesa Cup loss to Bright and Hayden Patriquin. In singles, she survived the most serious challenge she has faced in months from Fahey and still closed it out.
The question at this point is not whether Waters is the best women's pickleball player ever. That is settled. The question is how long she can sustain this level, and right now, there is no sign of decline. Full stop.
Tardio and Johns Open With an 11-0 Game and Push Their Win Streak to 30
Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns have now won six consecutive men's doubles tournaments together. They are undefeated in 2026. They have won 30 consecutive matches. And they opened the Texas Open final with an 11-0 game against Staksrud and Daescu.
Eleven to zero. In a gold medal match. Against two of the best doubles players on Tour.
The second game was tighter at 12-10, which shows that Staksrud and Daescu did not fold after the embarrassment of game one. They adjusted, competed, and pushed Tardio and Johns to the wire. But Tardio and Johns have a gear that other teams cannot match. When it is 10-10 or 11-10, they execute. They hit the right shots under pressure. They communicate without hesitation. That is what 30 straight wins of chemistry and confidence looks like.
Here is the progression of their dominance in 2026:
- PPA Indoor Championships: Gold
- Carvana Mesa Cup: Gold
- Carvana Arizona Grand Slam: Gold
- PPA Masters: Gold
- SXY Newport Beach Open: Gold
- Veolia Texas Open: Gold
Six for six. The question heading into the next tournament is simple: who can beat them?
Zane Ford Earns First Medal Since 2024
The men's singles bronze medal match featured 10-seed Zane Ford defeating 7-seed John Lucian Goins 8-11, 11-5, 11-9. Ford lost the first game and then flipped the script, winning two straight in a third-game battle that went down to the wire.
This was Ford's first PPA medal since 2024. Making a podium as a 10 seed in a 1,000-point event is significant. The men's singles field is deep, and fighting through the bracket as an unseeded player takes both skill and mental fortitude. Ford's willingness to battle back after losing game one against Goins showed the kind of resilience that could carry him into more medal matches as the season continues.
Player of the Tournament: Anna Leigh Waters
There is no debate. Anna Leigh Waters won three gold medals, went 16-0 in matches, went 35-1 in games, and survived the toughest challenge to her singles streak in months. She earned her 42nd career triple crown at just 19 years old in conditions that tested every player on the Tour.
What separated this performance from a typical Waters triple crown was the adversity. The wind was brutal, the women's singles final against Fahey was genuinely tight at the end, and she had to manage the physical toll of playing three Championship Sunday finals. I play for three hours a day and feel it the next morning. She played three gold medal matches in one day under 40 mph wind and never dropped her level.
Her partnership with Anna Bright in women's doubles continues to be the most dominant team in any bracket. Their 3-point average allowed per game is a stat that belongs in a different sport. And in mixed doubles, the revenge win over Bright and Patriquin after the Mesa Cup loss showed that Waters treats every loss as motivation. She remembers, and she responds.
Rising Stars to Watch
Every PPA tournament reveals who is climbing and who is stalling. Here are the players whose trajectories moved this weekend and why it matters for the rest of the 2026 season.
- Kate Fahey scored eight straight points against Anna Leigh Waters from 3-10 down in the women's singles final and reached game point. She ultimately lost 15-13, but that sequence was the closest anyone has come to cracking Waters' singles armor in months. Fahey's aggressive shot selection and willingness to attack Waters' forehand side showed a tactical blueprint that other players will study. Why this matters: Fahey is establishing herself as one of the few players who can genuinely push Waters in singles. That status changes how she gets seeded and scouted.
- Hayden Patriquin reached the mixed doubles final with Anna Bright and continues to show up on Championship Sunday. His athleticism and transition game have improved visibly from tournament to tournament this season. Why this matters: Patriquin is still one of the youngest players on Tour, and he is already a fixture in gold medal matches. A breakthrough title feels inevitable.
- Zane Ford earned his first medal since 2024, taking bronze in men's singles as a 10 seed. Why this matters: The men's singles bracket is one of the deepest on Tour, and medaling as a double-digit seed signals a player on the rise. If Ford can build on this result, he could break into consistent top-eight finishes.
- Alix Truong reached the women's doubles final in her first tournament partnering with Parris Todd, her new Columbus Sliders (MLP) teammate. Why this matters: New partnerships usually take multiple tournaments to gel. Making a final immediately suggests real chemistry. This team could become a consistent threat if they stick together.
- Chris Haworth jumped to an 8-0 lead in the men's singles final and showed he has the talent to compete for gold. His aggressive style suits outdoor conditions, and the loss to Staksrud came down to wind adaptation, not ability. Why this matters: Haworth is building a case as a top-four singles player, and his willingness to attack early sets him apart from more conservative opponents.
Why this matters: The PPA Tour is deeper than ever. The gap between seeds 1-4 and seeds 5-12 is shrinking in every bracket. Players like Fahey, Truong, and Ford are proving that upsets and medal runs are not flukes; they are the new normal. That makes every tournament less predictable and more worth watching.
For players working on control and consistency in challenging conditions like these, carbon fiber paddles such as the Luzz Pro 4 Tornazo are often part of the conversation. We covered it in more detail in our Luzz Pro 4 Tornazo paddle review. A 15% discount is currently available with code "11Pickles".
Texas Open By The Numbers
- 42 career PPA triple crowns for Anna Leigh Waters
- 16-0 Waters' match record at the Texas Open across three brackets
- 35-1 Waters' game record across the tournament (the one game loss: women's singles final, game 2)
- 640+ consecutive days without a singles loss for Waters
- 30 consecutive men's doubles match wins for Tardio and Johns
- 6 consecutive tournament titles for Tardio/Johns in men's doubles
- 11-0 the opening game of the men's doubles final (Tardio/Johns over Staksrud/Daescu)
- 40+ mph wind gusts throughout the weekend at The Courts of McKinney
- 8 consecutive points scored by Fahey from 3-10 down in the women's singles final
- 3 average points per game allowed by Waters/Bright in women's doubles
- 2 men's singles titles for Staksrud in 2026 (Mesa Cup, Texas Open)
- 4 of 5 gold medals won between Waters and Johns
- 10 seed for Zane Ford, who earned bronze in men's singles (first medal since 2024)
- 1,000 PPA ranking points available at the Texas Open
What Is Next
The PPA Tour heads to Ivins, Utah for the Greater Zion Cup from March 23 through 29. That is a 1,500-point Cup event, a step up from the 1,000-point Texas Open, which means even higher stakes and more ranking points on the line.
The storylines carrying forward are clear. Can anyone stop the Tardio/Johns men's doubles machine before their win streak hits 40? Will Fahey use the Texas Open near-comeback as a launchpad, or will it haunt her? Can Staksrud win three out of four tournaments and establish himself as the clear number two in men's singles behind Hunter Johnson? And the question that hangs over every women's bracket: will anyone take a game off Waters in singles?
The absence of the Kawamoto sisters and Johnson brothers from the Texas Open draw raises questions heading into Greater Zion. If they return, the brackets get significantly deeper.
If you want to rep your love of pickleball while following the 2026 PPA season, check out the latest gear and apparel from 11 Pickles on Etsy. And for players looking for a paddle that can handle wind conditions like McKinney, check out our reviews of the Luzz Pro 4 Inferno and the Luzz Pro 4 Tornazo, two carbon fiber paddles built for control when the elements are working against you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Won the PPA Texas Open 2026?
Federico Staksrud won men's singles, Anna Leigh Waters won women's singles, Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns won men's doubles, Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright won women's doubles, and Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns won mixed doubles. Waters earned her 42nd career triple crown by winning all three events she entered.
What Were the PPA Texas Open 2026 Results for Men's Singles?
Federico Staksrud won men's singles gold by defeating Chris Haworth 2-11, 11-5, 11-5 in the final. Haworth built an 8-0 lead in game one, but Staksrud adapted to the 40 mph wind conditions and took the next two games with identical scores. Zane Ford (10 seed) earned bronze over John Lucian Goins (7 seed) in a 8-11, 11-5, 11-9 third-game thriller.
How Long Is Anna Leigh Waters' Singles Winning Streak?
Anna Leigh Waters' singles winning streak now exceeds 640 consecutive days. She did not lose a single game in the entire women's singles draw at the PPA Veolia Texas Open 2026, extending one of the longest winning streaks in professional racquet sports history.
What Was the Wind Like at the PPA Texas Open 2026?
Wind gusts exceeded 40 mph throughout the tournament weekend at The Courts of McKinney in McKinney, Texas. The wind significantly impacted play across all brackets, affecting lobs, third-shot drops, and high-trajectory shots. Players who adapted to compact, low-to-the-net styles performed best in the conditions.
When Is the Next PPA Tournament After the Texas Open?
The next PPA Tour event is the Greater Zion Cup from March 23 through 29, 2026 in Ivins, Utah. It is a 1,500-point Cup event, which makes it one of the higher-stakes tournaments on the 2026 PPA Tour calendar.
