The world's first and world's best pickleball tour brought the fireworks on Fourth of July weekend as the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) hosted a capacity crowd for five thrilling Championship Sunday matches at the 2025 Zimmer Biomet APP Newport Beach Open.
The Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach played host to five days of nonstop pickleball competition, welcoming players of all ages and skill levels in addition to the sport’s elite professionals. Southern California natives Jill Braverman (Newport Beach) and Christine Maddox (Santa Monica), plus three first-time gold medalists (Katerina Stewart – women's singles, Richard Livornese – men's doubles, Tanner Tomassi – men's doubles) highlighted the pro division winners. Braverman picked up her title alongside Megan Fudge, Maddox teamed up with Max Manthou for mixed pro doubles gold, and Armaan Bhatia won his second-straight men’s singles title.
The 2025 Zimmer Biomet APP Newport Beach Open also showcased a large field of amateur players from across the country including brand-new U16 and U13 divisions, the AARP Champions and Masters Pro Divisions, and the latest round of the season-long Humana Cup competition for pros 50 and over. Gold medalists from the event earned a USA Pickleball Golden Ticket and secured their rights to pre-register for the 2025 USA Pickleball National Championships, and all amateur medalists earned an APP Passport guaranteeing pre-registration for the season-ending 2025 APP Tour Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Women’s Pro Singles
The championship action began with longtime APP Tour pro Bobbi Oshiro taking on first-time finalist Katerina Stewart in the women’s pro singles final. Game one was neck-and-neck with Stewart sneaking by, 16-14, after multiple game points by Oshiro. Stewart maintained her momentum and controlled game two, winning 15-12 to secure her first career APP Tour gold medal.
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” an ecstatic Stewart said. “I’ve been working really hard for this moment and I’m happy to see my success come to fruition. Everyone knows Bobbi is such a fighter, so I did my best to try to keep my level up with hers and luckily, I came out on top today.”
Yana Newell earned the women’s pro singles bronze medal in Newport Beach.
Women’s Pro Doubles
Jill Braverman, playing in her hometown tournament, paired with her trusty partner, Megan Fudge, in the women’s pro doubles final against the Australian duo of Emilia Schmidt and Danni-Elle Townsend, who made their first career Championship Sunday appearances. The veterans Braverman and Fudge made quick work in game one, winning 11-2. Not to be deterred, Schmidt and Townsend jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game two and held on to win 11-9. Schmidt and Townsend again took an early lead in game three, up 6-5 at the break, but Fudge and Braverman retaliated and took the win, 11-8.
“Credit to [Schmidt and Townsend], they had a fantastic tournament”, Fudge said following the win. “Anybody that knows me know how important international pickleball is to me, so kudos to the Australian team, and I hope they keep coming over.”
“It definitely felt like a home crowd advantage,” Braverman added. “TTC at Newport Beach is one of the most beautiful clubs in the world.”
Bobbi Oshiro and Sofia Sewing won the women’s doubles bronze medals.
Men's Pro Doubles
In the men’s pro doubles final, three-seed Richard Livornese, Jr. and Tanner Tomassi battled four-seed Patrick Kawka and Kyle Koszuta, with each player seeking their first career APP Tour gold medals. Game one went to Livornese and Tomassi, 11-6, then Kawka and Koszuta responded with their own 11-6 win in game two. Game three came down to the wire, but Livornese and Tomassi pulled away, 11-8, to clinch their first career golds.
“It was an amazing match,” Livornese said. “I always feel confident with [Tanner] on my side of the net, and I felt like whenever the score was tight, we’d get the ball back and make our adjustments. It’s easy to play with this guy, and a lot of fun.”
“The game plan was to handle their drives, especially in transition, and really just be calm,” Tomassi added. “We bring the energy, but when we’re at the net we try to calm down, and I thought we did that perfectly.”
Will Howells and Jack Munro took home the men’s pro doubles bronze medals.
Mixed Pro Doubles
Santa Monica native Christine Maddox and Max “Purple Jesus” Manthou returned to Championship Court as the defending mixed doubles champions from last October's 2024 APP Newport Beach Open, this time facing Casey Diamond and Sofia Sewing for gold. A tight-knit game one went 11-9 in favor of Maddox and Manthou. Diamond and Sewing put up a fight in game two, but Maddox and Manthou’s chemistry was too much to overcome, as they won 11-6 to repeat as Newport Beach gold medalists.
“Pickleball is meant to be fun,” Manthou said. “It’s a backyard game, I grew up where it was invented, so I’ve seen it my whole life. When I treat it too much like a job, it loses that playfulness, and I’m finding it again. My spirit is feeling good.”
“It just clicked in this tournament” Maddox said following the win.
“We couldn’t do it without everyone’s support,” Manthou added. “We feel it in every point.”
Megan Fudge and Jack Munro won the mixed pro doubles bronze medals in Newport Beach.
Men's Pro Singles
Armaan Bhatia has been on a tear this season on the APP Tour, and he took the court to defend his men’s singles title against Patrick Kawka. Bhatia cruised in game one, 15-8. Kawka gave it everything he had in game two, but Bhatia pulled away, 15-11, to win the match and his second gold medal in a row.
“I think this tournament was probably one of the best I’ve played singles-wise,” said Bhatia. “It’s been a great week, and I’d like to congratulate Patrick on two tough finals. He’s been playing great, and I hope to have more finals with you.”
Chris Haworth secured the men’s pro singles bronze medal.
AARP Champions Pro Action
In AARP Champions Division (50+) competition in Newport Beach, highlights include Lee Whitwell and Jaime Oncins taking home another mixed doubles title, Jennifer Dawson earning the women’s singles title and Marcello Jardim clinching the men’s singles gold medal.
AARP Masters Pro Action
In AARP Masters Division (60+) action, Beth Bellamy was the big winner with two gold medals – one in women’s doubles with Anna Shirley and another alongside Scott Moore in mixed doubles. Todd Murphy and Steve Scurfield paired up for men’s doubles gold, Lisa Conway earned women’s singles gold, and Dana Treister took home the men’s singles title.
2025 Humana Cup
The Zimmer Biomet APP Newport Beach Open also hosted the latest round of the 2025 Humana Cup, a season-long team competition for pros aged 50 and older. Full Humana Cup standings and results can be found at theapp.global.
Additional Details
Full tournament results are available here. Highlights from an amazing 2025 Zimmer Biomet APP Newport Beach Open will air nationwide on ESPN2 on Monday, July 7 from 9-11 pm ET.
The APP Tour’s summer circuit continues in Midland, Michigan August 13-17 for the 2025 APP Great Lakes Open, hosted at the Greater Midland Tennis Center. 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.
