In the Lone Star State, Megan Fudge shined the brightest as the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) showcased the 2024 APP Dallas Open for a national television audience as the sport's elite professionals and hundreds of amateur players battled for gold.
Fudge was the big winner with two gold medals following five days of elite pickleball action at Oasis Pickleball Club in Rockwall, Texas, culminating with thrilling championship matches on ESPN2. Austin, Texas native Jack Munro joined Fudge atop the podium in mixed pro doubles, as did Jill Braverman in women’s doubles. Yana Newell earned her first women’s singles title of 2024, Chris Haworth earned his sixth men’s singles gold, and Erik Lange and Max Manthou brought home their second men’s doubles title as a duo.
Women’s Pro Singles
Yana Newell and Simone Jardim started the championship slate in the women’s singles final on Thursday afternoon. Jardim, the APP Tour’s all-time women’s gold medal leader, came out firing and took game one, 15-9. Newell, playing in her second women’s singles final of 2024, battled back with a 15-7 victory in game two. Game three was all Newell, who cruised 15-2 to clinch her first singles gold medal of the year.
“I’m feeling great,” Newell said after the win. “Playing singles is tough, and there are no easy rounds here. Everyone’s playing so great. All the ladies are beasts out there, so I’m very happy with my performance.”
Rachael James earned her second-straight women’s singles bronze medal in Dallas.
Men’s Pro Singles
Chris Haworth has been a powerhouse in men’s singles on the APP Tour throughout 2024, winning three straight titles entering Dallas. APP U.S. Next Gen National Team member Jack Foster met Haworth in the gold medal match to challenge him for the crown. The match was tightly contested, but Haworth proved once again why he’s one of the best in the game, winning 15-10 and 15-12 en route to his sixth men’s singles gold medal of the season.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Haworth said. “It was a long day today and I’m definitely feeling it in my legs a little bit. Singles is a hard event to win because there’s such big draws and so many good players. Consistency is key. Another title, and hopefully more to come.
Grayson Goldin earned the men’s singles bronze in Dallas.
Mixed Pro Doubles
The mixed pro doubles final featured the APP Tour’s all-time women’s medal leader Megan Fudge and Texas native Jack Munro against Daria Walczak and Casey Diamond, making their first gold medal appearance as partners. Game one was back-and-forth, but Fudge and Munro pulled away late, 11-7. Fudge and Munro carried their momentum into game two and won handedly, 11-2, to secure their second mixed doubles gold medals as a team.
“I was most excited today about our progress,” Fudge said. “We’ve been working a lot on our games and our strategies together, and today it all clicked. We played very aggressive and very offensive pickleball. We set the tone instead of being reactive, really took it to our opponents, and it paid off."
Bobbi Oshiro and Randy Blanco teamed up for mixed pro doubles bronze.
Men’s Pro Doubles
The Pacific Northwest duo of Erik Lange and Max Manthou took on the Boca Raton duo of Will Howells and Mark Dancuart in the men’s pro doubles gold medal match. Lange and Manthou, who previously won gold together in Newport Beach, started strong with an 11-7 win in game one. Game two was close as well, but Lange and Manthou pulled away late, 11-8, to claim their second golds of 2024.
“Max is such an athlete and a great human being,” said Lange. “It’s just fun sharing the court with him. If we happen to win a gold medal, that’s the cherry on top. Thank you to the APP Tour for putting on this event, it’s been fun to share the court with so many awesome players”.
“We stuck to what we wanted to do and came away a winner” added Manthou.
Mario Barrientos and Patrick Kawka earned the men’s pro doubles bronze medals.
Women's Pro Doubles
In a rematch from the OWL APP Newport Beach Open in July, Jill Braverman and Megan Fudge faced off against Emily Cederquist and Yana Newell for women’s pro doubles gold. Cederquist and Newell had their opponents on the ropes in game one with a 10-6 lead, but Braverman and Fudge stormed back to win 12-10. Braverman and Fudge then closed out the match 11-7 in game two, securing their second women’s doubles gold as a team in 2024.
“We’ve been here and done that,” said Fudge after her second gold of the APP Dallas Open. “There’s no difference – you always have to make a game plan and execute, execute, execute. No matter the score, we knew what we were trying to achieve and were trusting in our shots.”
“Megan picked me up in the first game, she kept saying ‘we got this’,” added Braverman. “It was nothing but belief and positivity and I appreciate Megan for that.”
Susannah Barr and Glauka Carvajal Lane took home the women’s pro doubles bronze in Dallas.
AARP Champions and Masters Pro Action
In AARP Champions Division (50+) competition in Dallas, Marcello Jardim earned the triple crown with gold medals in men’s singles, men’s doubles with Daryl Wyatt and mixed doubles with Lisa Alipaz. Karin Ptaszek-Kochis won the women’s singles gold, while Molly Carter and Sheri Courter earned women’s doubles gold.
In AARP Masters Division (60+) action, Scott Moore earned two gold medals – one in men’s doubles with David Spearman, and one in mixed doubles with Diane Wainio. Pam Gilbert and Sue Johnston took home the women’s doubles gold.
Southwest Regional Qualifier – 2025 APP U.S. Collegiate Championships
Oasis Pickleball Club also welcomed some of the nation’s top college pickleball teams competing in the Southwest Regional Qualifier event for the 2025 APP U.S. Collegiate Championships. The schools went head-to-head over two days of competition, with the top four teams advancing to the 2025 Championships. University of Virginia (#1), University of Connecticut, University of Virginia (#2) and Mississippi State University placed in the top four, securing their spots. Other competing schools included University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Stanford University.
Additional Details
Full tournament results available here. The APP Tour returns to action October 23-27 for the second edition of the 2024 OWL APP Newport Beach Open, held at the revered Newport Beach Tennis and Pickleball Club in Orange County, California.
More information about upcoming APP events—including APP Tour dates, player registration and ticket information—is available on theapp.global. Pickleball enthusiasts can also stay in the know by following the APP on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and LinkedIn.
