Luca Mack and Juan Varon – two up-and-coming players who currently live and train in Georgia – got the biggest win of their careers over the weekend, taking gold in The Kitchen Open Atlanta.

The Open Division champs collected the winner-take-all grand prize of $25,000 — and we caught up with them afterward to talk about their big win.

For both players, the money and exposure gained this weekend could be a stepping stone to pro pickleball, as it has been for past winners of The Kitchen Open, such as Noe Khlif (2023) and Juan Benitez (2024). More below.

Also in this issue:

• Johns, Tardio win sixth straight title in thrilling fashion 😮

• Did Federico Staksrud just give us the point of the year? 🤯

• PPA, MLP announce multi-year betting partnership with Polymarket 💰

• How would Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters do in men’s doubles? 🤔

• JOOLA releases new paddle line geared toward intermediate players 🔥

Let’s get cookin’. 🧑‍🍳

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This has to be the point of the year, right?

Federico Staksrud won his third singles gold medal of the season this weekend at the PPA Tour Las Vegas Cup, and in the process gave us this point of the year candidate.

In his semifinal match against Marshall Brown (yes, Chef!) Staksrud showed off his speed and athleticism to track down multiple balls that most players wouldn’t even attempt to get to. If this isn’t the point of the year, we don’t know what is.

🔗 Check out this wild point on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok

PICKLEBALLERS

Could Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters win in men’s doubles?

In case you missed it last week, Season 2 of Pickleballers kicked off with a bang as the GOAT himself — Ben Johns — joined the podcast. Johns has racked up 150+ gold medals and once ripped off a 108-match winning streak in singles, so we asked him: What’s it like to be the best player to ever pick up a pickleball paddle?

We also talked about how he thinks a Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters partnership would do in men’s doubles, and he shared never-before-heard stories about his on-court dynamic with his brother Collin Johns.

🔗 Check out the first episode of Season 2 on YouTube or Spotify

FEATURED STORY

Georgia pickleball players win $25,000 at The Kitchen Open Atlanta

Luca Mack and Juan Varon collected the winner-take-all grand prize of $25,000 with a victory over Matthew Barlow (Omaha, Nebraska) and Anouar Braham (Atlanta) on Sunday in a best-of-5 final at The Kitchen Open Atlanta (11-6, 3-11, 11-8, 12-10).

“The money from this will help me a lot,” said Mack, who is originally from Germany but came to the states to play tennis at Valdosta State University, a Division II powerhouse in southern Georgia.

Mack, now 25 years old, is a graduate assistant coach for the Valdosta State tennis team, but has been playing PPA Tour qualifiers and PPA Challenger events for the past several months with the goal of becoming a signed pickleball pro.

“There’s a ton of expenses for guys like us to play in these pro tournaments … travel, rental car, hotels, entry fees. So to be able to get some help in that regard is big,” Mack said.

For Varon, the win is validation that he can compete with and beat top players (Barlow and Braham are both rated over 6.0 on DUPR).

The 24-year-old Columbia native played tennis at Xavier University of Louisiana and started playing pickleball about three years ago, bouncing back and forth between pro and amateur tournaments in that time. He still coaches tennis at an academy and country club in Atlanta, but hopes to pursue pro pickleball more seriously in the coming months.

“I have been training on and off. Sometimes I feel like I’m very close, and then I have a bad loss or something and I’ll take a step back and focus more on my tennis teaching,” he said. “But then after a break I’ll play again and I can see the potential in my game. So this shows that my game is there and I can do it.”

🔗 More from Sunday’s thrilling TKO Atlanta final

THE PROS

PPA Tour Las Vegas Cup recap: Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio win sixth straight title in thrilling fashion

In a match that lasted more than 2 1/2 hours Sunday afternoon, Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio were pushed into a corner they haven't found themselves in since the spring: Facing a match point against ... with a five-tournament winning streak on the line.

Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu -- the No. 2 seeds who have been ultra consistent this season but have settled for silver or bronze in five out of seven tournaments together since April -- produced one of their best efforts of the year against the top seeds and were on the verge of getting over the hump at the PPA Tour Las Vegas Cup.

They led 10-8 late in Game 5 of the best-of-5 series, but Johns and Tardio survived a match point and then never gave the ball back, ultimately winning 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10.

“A ton of credit to them — they played phenomenal, best I’ve ever seen,” Johns said after the match. “They came back like they usually do, and yeah, we had to face down a match point, and I’m just glad Gabe’s pretty clutch.”

Daescu and Alshon had a great look on their lone match point, with an extended hands-battle that could have just as easily gone their way, but the final volley from Alshon caught the top of the net.

“Look, we played a great match, and the margins are very small," Daescu said. "We had a match point — again, very small margins — they got it there in the end, but there are a lot of positives.”

Johns/Tardio are now 6-1 against Alshon/Daescu on the season, with their only loss to that duo coming in the finals of the Mesa Cup in February. Sunday's victory extends their winning streak to six straight tournaments, dating back to the Orange County Cup in June.

While men's doubles saw the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds make the final, there were several upsets in other divisions this week that led to some intriguing gold-medal matches.

🔗 Check out our full Las Vegas Cup recap here

TRENDING

The PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball late last week announced a multi-year agreement with Polymarket that will make the futures market the "exclusive prediction market provider for pro pickleball's leading entities," which operate under the United Pickleball Association.

The agreement will provide Polymarket with exclusive access to proprietary PPA Tour and MLP data, according to a news release from the UPA.

In addition to offering pickleball futures markets on the Polymarket platform, the partnership also includes media rights and streaming opportunities.

🔗 Learn more about this game-changing partnership

PADDLE CORNER

JOOLA releases new paddle line geared toward intermediate players

JOOLA has been a big player at the game’s highest level for several years, making premium paddles that are often the choice of many pros and thousands of amateurs who play at the highest levels competitively.

This week, the brand released a new line of paddles under the Play With Vision campaign. The tagline “Play With Vision” is the expression JOOLA headlines the campaign with, and it serves as the connective tissue for the core idea and the Vision products themselves, to develop paddles that grow with you and your game, and remind us that the spirit of the sport is stronger when everyone plays their own way.

The new Vision line features 7 different models in multiple colorways — all falling into the $89.95-$119.95 price range.

VISION: This 16mm paddle comes in JOOLA’s Hyperion shape and is designed for players who prioritize precision and spin. It features a cold-pressed layering process and a textured carbon fiber surface. Buy now, $89.95

HEAT VISION: Comes in 3 shapes: Agassi, Perseus and Scorpeus. Each model is constructed using JOOLA’s latest thermoforming process that is meant to enhance stability and flexibility while delivering more power and durability. It also has what JOOLA calls an SK Film placed between the carbon fiber surface and core to improve vibration dampening. Buy now, $99.95

DOUBLE VISION: Comes in 3 shapes: Hyperion, Perseus and Scorpeus. The new aramid surface material increases impact resistance while providing a softer feel, longer dwell time and great control. This model also features the SK Film and is constructed with the same thermoforming process as the Heat Vision paddles. Buy now, $119.95

🔗 Learn more about JOOLA’s newest paddles here

QUICK HITS

• Insane: We saw some amazing points at TKO Atlanta

• NBA x Pickleball: Kevin Durant hits the court

• LOL: The 6-7 has infiltrated pickleball

• Bring it on: We don’t mess around on the pickleball court

• The highest level: This was peak mixed doubles