Carvana Mesa Cup Feb. 16 to 22 Draws Thousands, Produces Major Upsets

Luc Pham and Matthew Barlow produced two major upsets that reshaped the men’s singles draw at the Carvana Mesa Cup, the PPA Tour stop running February 16 to 22 at Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona. The weekend field includes top touring pros, thousands of registered amateur players, and dozens of matches across AAG’s 41 courts.

Pham, the No. 52 seed and a 22-year-old USC graduate with a human biology degree from May 2025, beat No. 12 seed Dylan Frazier 11-2, 11-9 in a straight-games victory reported on Tuesday, February 17. Pham said, "It was a scrappy match with a lot of back and forth." He added, "The second set was really close, really tight. Dylan was hitting a lot of great passing shots and great volleys, so I was trying to do my best to get around him because he’s a great singles player." Pham signed with the PPA Tour in December and is listed as advancing into the Round of 32; he is scheduled to face No. 17 seed Cason Campbell in his next match.

Matthew Barlow provided the other headline upset, coming back to defeat No. 6 seed Roscoe Bellamy 9-11, 11-9, 11-2. Timesnownews lists Barlow as the No. 72 seed, and reports say "Barlow fought back to beat Bellamy." Barlow is set to play No. 30 seed Mota Alhouni in the next round after that three-game win.

Sources reported the upsets on Tuesday, February 17, the day the PPA schedule lists the Round of 64 on Humana Championship Court and Carvana Grandstand Court. The same PPA schedule lists the Round of 32 on Wednesday, February 18 and the Round of 16 on Thursday, February 19; taken together, the accounts explicitly state the wins were reported on Feb 17 and that those wins moved Pham and Barlow into the Round of 32. The PPA schedule pages show many daily court windows as "12:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET" even though the event takes place in Mesa, AZ.

Arizona Athletic Grounds is listed at 6321 S. Ellsworth Rd., Mesa, AZ 85212 and features a championship court with seating for 1,800 spectators. The complex hosts daily play and major tournaments, and PPA materials note AAG offers individual and corporate memberships, camps, leagues, and tournament opportunities. Parking is managed by Arizona Athletic Grounds with recommended Lots 1, 2, or 3; quarterfinals were scheduled for Friday, February 20 on Humana Championship Court and Carvana Grandstand Court, semifinals for Saturday, February 21 on Humana Championship Court, and championships for Sunday, February 22 on Humana Championship Court.

The draw at AAG also lists stars such as Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns among touring professionals while thousands of amateur entrants populate side courts and consolation play. Social posts and photos circulated on Instagram and via CARVANA PPA TOUR, including a Timesnownews image caption that reads, "(From left to right): Luc Pham and Matthew Barlow are set to compete in the round of 16 at the Carvana Mesa Cup on February 18. (Photo: @matthewbarlow_17/@lucpham__/)" and the Instagram snippet: "BIG SINGLES UPSETS AT TH PPA TOUR CARVANA MESA CUP 3 Kaitlyn ... Luc Pham 11 11 ARVANA ARVANA. azgrounds. •. Follow. Photo by Arizona"

Pham framed his breakout as the start of a larger run, saying, "I’m blessed to play pickleball. I just recently signed, so I’m playing as many tournaments as I can. I’m going to be playing a lot of tournaments throughout the US and Asia, and I can’t wait to play more.