Pickleball Stars Glitter On Australia’s Gold Coast

The world’s best players converged on Australia’s Gold Coast for the PPA Australia event at the Royal Pines Resort 30 August – 1 September.

The temperature was hot and was matched by the hot action on court, in men’s and women’s singles and doubles action as well as mixed doubles action.

The three-day event produced some stunning results and unearthed some incredible emerging talent.

Among the stunning performances was American star Michelle Esquivel who was the only player to make the semi-finals of all three of her pro events and taking bronze in the mixed doubles with her partner Prycen Haas after finishing fourth in the women’s doubles with Jamie Hass and fourth in the women’s singles.

Another standout performance came from the ‘Vietnamese wonder’ Phuc Huynh. 

Huynh took out the male singles final against Australian superstar Mitch Hargreaves. Huynh took the Pro field by absolute storm and won the final 11-5, 11-7 with his all-round game combined with his incredible shot making and fast hands. Huynh sent an ominous warning by not dropping a game through his draw. 

The women’s singles was a very different affair with Australian powerhouse Somer Dalla-Bona (‘Somer Dalla-Bomber’) pipping Asian superstar Pei Chuan Kao in a game with more turns than a grand prix track. Dalla-Bona fought back from a second game donut to grind out a win in three games 11-2, 0-11, 11-9.

In the bronze medal match, Sydney Smash star Selina Turulja announced her presence on the PPA Australia tour with a hard-fought grinding win against Michelle Esquivel 13-11, 7-11, 11-6.

Day two of the event saw men’s and women’s doubles take to the court featuring some dream match ups like Mitchel Hargreaves and Zach Grabovic, Kyle Whatnall and Roman Estareja, and Kyle Yates with his last-minute replacement Yuvraj Ruia in the men’s draw and Kaitlynn Hart and Roos Van Reek, Sarah Burr and Sarah Jane Lim as well as Pei Chuan Kao and Danni-Elle Townsend in the women’s draw.

In the men’s doubles it was the superstar duo from India, Harsh Mehta and Armaan Bhatia that stole the show. After taking out the Australian pairing of Hargreaves and Grabovic in the quarter finals the duo recorded a tight semi final victory over Whatnall and Estareja 13-11, 6-11, 12-10 to book their ticket to the gold medal match.

On the other side of the draw, it was Yates and Ruia that recorded two three game victories in the quarter and semi-finals to book their place in the gold medal match. The quarter final win over Haas and Lazaro 5-11, 11-5, 11-5 was followed up with a semi-final stunner over Wild and Wall 7-11, 11-3, 11-9. Not bad for a team where Yuvraj Ruia was a late replacement for hall of famer Wesley Gabrielsen. 

The men’s doubles gold medal match was a celebration of Indian pickleball with three of the players coming from India. It was the combination of Mehta and Bhatia that took the gold medal in a see sawing match over Yates and Ruia 11-4, 4-11, 11-3.

The women’s doubles saw the American combination of Liz Truluck and Ting Chieh (Jamie) Wei emerge as the women’s gold medallists after battling through a tough quarter final against Kao and Townsend 10-12, 11-6, 11-8 and then outlasting the combination of Hass and Esquivel in the semi-final after Haas had to retire hurt 11-8 11R6.

On the other side of the women’s doubles draw it was pairing of Van Reek and Hart that was wreaking havoc in the draw. With a round of 16 win against highly fancied Jou Yo Ko and Yung-Hsin Tseng 11-8, 11-6, then a giant win over Sarah Burr and Sarah Jane Lim in the quarter finals 11-7, 11-3, they came up against Emilia Schmidt and Shelby Bates in the semi-finals. After losing the first game Van Reek and Hart found their heart and booked their place in the gold medal match with a 9-11, 11-7, 11-6 win.

The gold medal showdown between Hart and Van Reek and Wei and Truluck was a three-game thriller. With the experience of Truluck and Wei on the PPA tour in the USA proving the difference 11-7, 9-11, 11-8.

Day three was a celebration of pickleball featuring some incredible mixed pairings. In arguably the upset of the day Burr and Estareja took out the highly fancied Bates and Yates in the round of 16 11-7, 7-11, 11-4. Burr and Estareja were then knocked out in the quarterfinals by Michelle Esquivel and Prycen Haas 11-7, 11-7.

The winning combination from the PPA Australia Tour event in Brisbane Danni-Elle Townsend and Joey Wild were the team to watch and with a round of 16 win against Lazaro and Lim 11-5, 11-9 followed up with a quarter final win over Wei and Mehta 11-9, 11-8, the stage was set for some fiery semi-final action.

On the other side of the draw the pairings of Schmidt and Hargreaves and Hart and Pascoe were steadily making their way through the draw and would set up a semi-final showdown of their own. Hart and Pascoe took out Wall and Dalla-Bona in the quarter finals 11-8, 11-4 while Hargreaves and Schmidt had to fight hard against Van Reek and Grewal eventually winning 5-11, 11-5, 11-9.

Hart and Pascoe show too much grit in the tough two setter defeating Hargreaves and Schmidt 12-10, 14-12 in straight games.

The gold medal match was Kaitlynn Hart’s second final for the weekend and she was determined to turn silver into gold. But it was not to be with Danni-Elle Townsend and Joey ‘the wildman’ Wild going back-to-back winning the Gold Coast event in straight games 12-10, 11-2.

Hart and Pascoe literally through everything but the kitchen sink at Wild and Townsend, and on every occasion, they had the answer. It was Danni-Elle Townsends aggressive and undaunted play that proved the difference. Townsend was unphased taking on either Hart or Pascoe, peppering them with speed ups and counters that set up opportunities for her team.

The PPA Australia event was more than just an event; it was a pivotal moment for the sport’s growth in the region. The event saw record crowds in attendance and record audiences watching online, particularly growth in the US viewership through YouTube.

Hosting a PPA Australia event on the Gold Coast is a testament to the sport’s expanding footprint in Australia and underscored the city’s potential as a hub for high-level pickleball competition. 

Organisers and athletes are already looking ahead to the next PPA Australia event that will take place at the stunning Carmelina Resort in Vietnam from 17-20 October.

Gordon Watson | Official Correspondant

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