Last Updated on January 29, 2026 by Drew Pierce
It was one of the most eventful—and frankly, brutal—weeks on the PPA Tour so far this year. The Indoor National Championships at Life Time Lakeville, Minnesota just wrapped up, and while the action inside was blazing, the conditions outside were absolutely arctic. We’re talking temperatures hitting -20°F, with daily highs struggling to break single digits all week.
But here’s the thing about professional pickleball in 2026: the show goes on, the young players keep getting better, and sometimes the storylines off the court matter just as much as what happens during matches. Let’s break down what just happened in Minnesota.
The Sickness That Swept Through Lakeville
First, let’s address the elephant in the room—or more accurately, the virus circulating through the facility. Despite playing indoors at Life Time Lakeville, a significant number of pros got sick during the week. And I’m not talking about minor sniffles. Players were visibly ill during matches, coughing between points, clearly struggling with their conditioning.
The casualty list included some of the sport’s biggest names: Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Chris Haworth, and Rachel Rohrabacher were all noticeably under the weather. For a sport that demands explosive lateral movement, quick reflexes, and sustained energy through best-of-three matches, playing sick is an absolute nightmare.
This is where we saw the difference between good players and great ones. Andrei Daescu and Gabe Tardio won men’s doubles gold despite Tardio being “very obviously ill for the majority of the week,” according to observers, and Daescu nursing a sore knee. The ability to win when you don’t have your best stuff—that’s what separates the elite from the merely talented.
The environmental factor matters here. Minnesota in January, with the temperature bouncing between -20°F and single digits, means everyone’s going from extreme cold outdoors to heated, dry indoor air. That’s a perfect recipe for respiratory illness to spread. Add in the close quarters of a tournament venue, shared facilities, and the physical stress of competition, and you’ve got a situation where one sick player can quickly become five or ten.
It’s a reminder that professional pickleball needs to think seriously about health protocols, especially for winter indoor events. Hand sanitizer stations, encouraging players to stay home if symptomatic, maybe even rapid testing availability—these aren’t luxuries anymore when you’ve got players whose livelihoods depend on being healthy enough to compete.
The Young Guns Are Coming
If there’s one storyline that absolutely dominated the Indoor Nationals, it’s this: the next generation of pickleball players is terrifyingly good, and they’re younger than you think.
Cam Chaffin is 14 years old. Let me repeat that. Fourteen. And he took down #24 Donald Young, #13 Adam Harvey, and #2 Federico Staksrud on his way to a quarterfinal run in men’s singles. His quarterfinal loss to #5 Chris Haworth was a heartbreaker—11-8, 10-12, 10-12—the kind of match that could have gone either way.
Think about what that means. A kid who’s probably still in middle school is taking out established professionals, including the #2 seed who was ranked high enough to have a first-round bye. That’s not a fluke. That’s a generational talent announcing his arrival.
On the women’s side, 17-year-old Kiora Kunimoto confirmed she’s “a serious problem,” as the recap accurately stated. She demolished #9 Hannah Blatt 11-2 in the third game, then obliterated #9 Zoey Wang 11-1, 11-1. In the quarters, she took down #2 Brooke Buckner 11-5, 6-11, 11-8 before falling to Lea Jansen in the semis.
The scary part? There are “plenty of youngsters signed on the PPA Tour in 2026,” and this is just the beginning. We’re going to see these deep runs become the norm, not the exception. The teenagers growing up with pickleball as their primary sport—not tennis players who switched over—are bringing a different level of athleticism and court sense.
For the older generation of pros, this has to be concerning. When a 14-year-old can hang with you in a three-game match at a major tournament, your window for dominance is closing faster than you thought.
Parris Todd’s Redemption (Sort Of)
Remember Parris Todd, who got hit with a $50,000 fine and two-event suspension for that Japan trip? Well, the PPA Masters was her suspended event. The Indoor Nationals was her first tournament back, and she made a statement: gold in mixed doubles (with Andrei Daescu), silver in another event, and bronze in women’s singles.
Actually, let me correct that—the bronze was technically awarded after Gabe and Catherine withdrew from the bronze medal match due to Gabe’s illness. But still, Todd reached all three finals she entered, proving that the suspension and fine didn’t break her mentally.
What’s interesting is watching how she handles the pressure. Coming back after that kind of public punishment could have crushed a player’s confidence. Instead, Todd came out swinging, playing aggressive pickleball and reminding everyone why she’s one of the top talents in the sport.
The controversy isn’t going away—the appeal from Ignatowich, Fu, and Glozman is still pending—but Todd’s performance in Lakeville shows she’s putting her head down and focusing on what she can control: winning matches.
Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters: Still Untouchable
Speaking of dominance, the Anna Bright/Anna Leigh Waters women’s doubles partnership rolled through Minnesota like a freight train. In their first three rounds (including semifinals), they posted a combined score of 66-11. That’s an average scoreline of 11-1.9 per game. Read that again and let it sink in.
They crushed their final opponents Tyra Black and Parris Todd 11-1 in game one, lost game two 11-6 (their only wobble), then closed it out 11-3, 11-5. The duo hasn’t lost together in over five months and hasn’t lost in women’s doubles since August. When Anna Leigh only plays one event at a tournament (she skipped singles and mixed in Minnesota), she comes in fresh and hungry. That’s terrifying for opponents.
The story noted this was “the first tournament since the 2024 PPA Daytona Open where no player won at least two gold medals.” You know what the common denominator was? Anna Leigh Waters only played one event in both tournaments. When she limits her schedule, nobody dominates across multiple disciplines—which tells you just how much of a force she is when she’s playing everything.
The Men’s Doubles Final: Match of the Year Candidate
Even though we’re only two events into 2026, the men’s doubles final between Andrei Daescu/Gabe Tardio and another team (details weren’t specified in the recap, but the match was called an instant classic) is already a top-five candidate for match of the year.
High-level men’s doubles features everything that makes pickleball great: lightning-quick hands at the kitchen, powerful drives, strategic lob exchanges, and mental toughness when games get tight. When you add in the context of Tardio playing through illness and Daescu managing a sore knee, the competitive grit required to win makes it even more impressive.
If you only watch one match from the Indoor Nationals, make it this one.
Looking Ahead
The PPA Tour now heads to warmer climates—thank god—with the next stop in Cape Coral, Florida, February 9-15. Players will get a week to recover, get healthy, and prepare for what’s shaping up to be an incredibly competitive 2026 season.
The lessons from Lakeville are clear: the young players are closing the gap faster than anyone expected, illness can derail even the best-laid plans, and champions find ways to win even when they’re not at 100%. Also, maybe don’t schedule major tournaments in Minnesota during January unless you enjoy watching pros trying to stay warm between matches.
Stay healthy out there, everyone. We’ve got a long season ahead.
— Ace