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In the lead-up to MLP Phoenix, an overriding narrative was the suspension of Quang Duong. If you missed the video explaining why he was fined $50k, check out the link in the comments below. Although at first Quang was to miss the entire event, the call was later softened to cover only the opening four matches. Here's an interesting twist: the Mad Drops decided to go with Spencer Smith instead of their own sub Wes Burrows, which meant they started each game at a 1-0 deficit while Spencer was in play.
On the first day of the tournament, The Mad Drops commenced with a loss to the Brooklyn Pickleball Team while Utah clocked their season's first win over Atlanta Bouncers. With Irina Tereschenko out of action, SoCal opted for their 17 year-old substitute Jalina Ingram, teaming up with Blaine to score an unexpected mixed match win against Augie and Tyra. This highlighted performance was, sadly, not enough to prevent the team from losing in regulation. Interesting enough, the idea of a 17 year-old excelling at a professional level is not farfetched in pickleball, thanks to players like Anna Leigh Waters, Big H, Gabe Tardio, and Jorja Johnson. In another significant development of the day, LA clinched a win over Flames without Quang, a promising sign for their playoffs run.
In addition to on-court happenings, there was considerable off-the-court discussion centered around the Chaifetz Group, who had an eventful weekend without their MLP team, the Shock, playing. They recently acquired Vulcan Pickleball and Stack Athletics. Ross Chaifetz made a bold proclamation—claiming their hosting of the MLP event would be the best in its history. Major League Pickleball's smartest move so far has been stepping aside and letting the team owners strive for excellence. We eagerly await the outcome of Ross' dare, hoping it's more Shock and Awe than Smoke and Mirrors.
On Friday, Phoenix scored a victory over Atlanta in a Dreambreaker, brushing off a distraction call against Tyson McGuffin. Matches including Brooklyn/Dallas and Jorja/Tyra versus Rachel/Jackie brought on several nerve-wracking moments and controversial decisions. Even the clash between Dekel and Rachel had its fair share of contentious points.
Saturday was comparatively smoother. The Flash glided past Utah while Brooklyn Pickleball Team swept past Atlanta in flawless fashion. Mad Drops managed to beat Utah 3-1 with Quang Duong still off the court. One of the noticeable elements of the day was underwhelming crowd turnouts in most matches compared to previous vibrant tournaments like MLP in 2023 and PPA. The day's major question: Was late-night pickleball a flop?
The tournament wrapped up playing pickleball at a sensible hour. Utah took out SoCal 3-1 in the opening match. After a long while (385 days and 27 matches to be exact), the Mad Drops were able to bring in their full lineup as Quang was back from suspension. While they started off well, they couldn't continue the performance. Flash won over Drops and LA had a clean sweep over Atlanta. Flames, however, saw a disappointing loss to Hard 8s.
Flash and Shock are neck and neck, but Dallas seems to be in a better position for they've played more matches. Brooklyn jumped ahead of Squeeze and Ranchers in the standings.
How is everyone else doing? Consensus world #1 Pat Smith is leading the rankings!
Next week, we head to Daytona MLP! Stay tuned for recap videos to catch up on everything pro pickleball.
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