DEVELOPMENT

A trophy with starts flying out of it.
There are so many deserving candidates in every category. Shutterstock

Nominees announced for 2024 Pickleball.com Mid-Season Awards

DALLAS, TX - The 2024 pickleball season has already been one to remember... and there's still more exciting action to come.

Now that we're at the halfway point, it's important to acknowledge the best-of-the-best that America's fastest-growing sport had to offer from January until now in a variety of different categories related to the PPA Tour, MLP and Pickleball Central.

With that in mind, we present the inaugural Pickleball.com Mid-Season Awards, which were voted on by UPA and PPA Inc. internal staff.

Good luck to all the candidates! The winners will be revealed later this week.

Here are the nominees:

Player of the year (male)
Federico Staksrud
Dylan Frazier
 
Player of the year (female)
Best dressed (male)
Best dressed (female)
Parris Todd
Genie Bouchard
 
Biggest personality on tour (male)
Biggest personality on tour (female)
Rachel Rohrabacher
Anna Bright
 
Best teammate (male)
Best teammate (female)
Tina Pisnik
Catherine Parenteau
Brooke Buckner
 
Most athletic (male)
Donald Young
James Ignatowich
Connor Garnett
Federico Staksrud
 
Most athletic (female)
Kaitlyn Christian
Chao Yi Wang
Genie Bouchard
Tina Pisnik
Brooke Buckner
 
Fan favorite (male)
Tyson McGuffin
Ben Johns
Federico Staksrud
Thomas Wilson
Jaume Martinez Vich
Jack Sock
 
Fan favorite (female)
Anna Bright
Anna Leigh Waters
Jorja Johnson
Vivienne David
Catherine Parenteau
Brascia Sisters
 
Best pro content creator (male)
Sam Querrey
Christian Alshon
Zane Navratil
Tyson McGuffin
Travis Rettenmaier
Zach Taylor
 
Best pro content creator (female)
Anna Bright
Tyra Black
Catherine Parenteau
Parris Todd
 
PPA Tour stop of the year
Select Medical Orange County Cup (San Clemente)
Vizzy Atlanta Open
Carvana Mesa Cup
Hyundai Masters (Palm Springs)
 
Best match of the year
Orange County Cup: Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns vs JW Johnson/Jorja Johnson
LA Open: Ben Johns/Collin Johns vs. Tyson McGuffin/Jaume Martinez Vich
Mesa Cup: Meghan Dizon/Etta Wright vs Mary Brascia/Maggie Brascia
The Masters: Dylan Frazier vs Federico Staksrud
 
Biggest upset of the year
Orange County Cup: Pablo Tellez/Hayden Patriquin win over Collin Johns/Ben Johns
Sacramento Open: Hayden Patriquin/Federico Staksrud win over Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson
Texas Open: Salome Devidze wins over Anna Leigh Waters
Masters: Quang Duong wins over Ben Johns
Austin Open: Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright win over Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau
North Carolina Cup: Sarah Ansboury/Audrey Banada win over Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright
 
Best Commentator
Dave Fleming
Michelle McMahon
Adam Stone
Kyle McKenzie
Daniel Roditi
Matt Manasse
 
Coach of the year
Athena Trouillot (Parenteau, MLP LA Mad Drops)
Leigh Waters (Waters, Alshon, MLP New Jersey 5s)
Mike Wolf (Staksrud, Jansen, MLP NY Hustlers)
Vinny Brascia (Maggie Brascia, Mary Brascia)
Jason Peery (Dizon, Wright, Loong, Truong, CA Black Bears)
 
Premier GM/Coach of the year (MLP)
Dave Fleming (Carolina Pickleball Club)
Ryan Dawidjan (Texas Ranchers)
Kyle McKenzie (D.C. Pickleball Team)
Mike Wolf (NY Hustlers)
Brandon and Taylor Hubschman (St. Louis Shock)
 
Challenger GM/Coach of the year (MLP)
Leigh Anne Rehkopf (Atlanta Bouncers)
Jim Dobran (Brooklyn Aces)
Scott Crandall (Bay Area Breakers)
Kaitlyn Kerr (Las Vegas Night Owls)
Tim Parks (SoCal Hard Eights)
 
Team most likely to win MLP Premier 2024 season
New Jersey 5s (Anna Leigh Waters, Mari Humberg, Will Howells, Zane Navratil)
St. Louis Shock (Anna Bright, Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patriquin, Kate Fahey)
NY Hustlers (Jackie Kawamoto, Lea Jansen, CJ Klinger, Jack Sock)
Texas Ranchers (Christian Alshon, Quang Duong, Tina Pisnik, Etta Wright)
 
MLP Premier sleeper pick of the year (male)
Hunter Johnson (LA Mad Drops)
Augie Ge (Dallas Flash)
Quang Duong (Texas Ranchers)
Collin Johns (Carolina Pickleball Club)
Will Howells (New Jersey 5s)
 
MLP Premier sleeper pick of the year (female)
Alix Truong (Utah Black Diamonds)
Vivian Glozman (D.C. Pickleball Team)
Kate Fahey (St. Louis Shock)
Mari Humberg (New Jersey 5s)
Tina Pisnik (Texas Ranchers)
 
Best MLP team chemistry (Premier and Challenger)
St. Louis Shock (Anna Bright, Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patriquin, Kate Fahey)
D.C. Pickleball Team (Dekel Bar, James Ignatowich, Rachel Rohrabacher, Vivian Glozman)
Brooklyn Aces (Pablo Tellez, Lina Padegimaite, Daniel De La Rosa, Layne Sleeth)
Atlanta Bouncers (Genie Erokhina, Angie Walker, Jaume Martinez Vich, Todd Fought)
Dallas Flash (JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Tyra Black, Augie Ge)
 

Related articles

Michael Loyd turned around in a purple tie dye shirt and purple hat pointing up to the sky

Best Dressed at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships 

Let's talk fashion at the biggest pickleball tournament of the year.

209 days ago

-
Anna Leigh Waters competing at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships.

Waters outduels Fahey in women's singles for second title of the day

Anna Leigh Waters battled past Kate Fahey to secure her second title at Brookhaven Country Club.

210 days ago

-
Federico Staksrud competing at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships.

Staksrud uses strong start to battle past Loyd in men’s singles

For the eighth time this year, Federico Staksrud is a men’s singles champion on the PPA Tour.

210 days ago

-
Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns holding up a trophy

Johns, Waters continue to dominate, win gold in mixed at Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships

Another gold for this unstoppable mixed partnership.

210 days ago

-