Anna Leigh Waters sits out, Sacramento Open becomes wide open competition

Anna Leigh Waters sitting out turned the Fasenra Sacramento Open into a different kind of PPA Tour stop. Instead of a predictable run to another title, Sacramento became a week where the draw mattered again, and that uncertainty gave the event real pull for fans, bettors and anyone deciding whether a pro-tour stop is worth planning around.

The tournament ran April 13-19 at Life Time Arden in Sacramento, and the preview framed all five events as wide open and unpredictable. That is the marketable angle here: when the dominant women’s player is absent, the field stops feeling locked up and starts looking like a genuine opportunity for someone else to break through.

Women’s singles showed that shift immediately. Kate Fahey and Kaitlyn Christian were the top two seeds, but the bracket was filled with players capable of upsetting that order, including Catherine Parenteau, Lea Jansen, Judit Castillo, Isabelle Dunlap and Jalina Ingram. That kind of depth changes how a stop is viewed. Instead of one expected result, Sacramento offered a bracket full of live rounds and the possibility that a lesser-seeded player could turn one strong week into a headline.

Mixed doubles brought the same sense of openness. Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson held the No. 1 spot, but Parris Todd and Andrei Daescu, along with Rachel Rohrabacher and Gabe Tardio, were positioned to make noise. With those names in the mix, the event looked less like a formality and more like a test of which teams were ready to seize a gap when the bracket opened up.

That is what made Sacramento stand out on the PPA schedule. A star absence did not shrink the event; it made the stop more interesting, because the next tier had room to matter. For travelers eyeing the tour, that kind of uncertainty adds destination value. For the sport, it is another sign that the pro field has deep enough talent to keep an event compelling even when the biggest name is out.