Johns and Waters close PPA season with dominant Finals runs

Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters finished the PPA season the same way they spent most of it, on top of the bracket and in control of the biggest stage. At the Toys “R” Us PPA Finals in San Clemente, California, the sport’s marquee names again set the tone at Life Time Rancho San Clemente, where the year’s final tournament brought together only the top eight men and women in singles and the top 16 men and women in doubles.

The championship matches were not close. Waters and Anna Bright beat Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto 11-2, 11-4 in women’s doubles, while Johns and Gabe Tardio rolled past JW Johnson and Christian Alshon 11-4, 11-1 in men’s doubles. Johns and Waters also closed out mixed doubles, extending the run that has made them the division’s defining pairing and reinforcing a season in which the same elite names kept separating themselves from the field.

That separation matters because of how the PPA now structures its calendar. Rankings are built from the previous 52 weeks and each player’s best 16 events, and only the top eight players or teams in each pro division reach the Finals. That made San Clemente the last stop of the 2025-26 PPA year, but it also served as the handoff into the 2026-27 global season, which begins immediately after the finals end. A separate PPA 500 ran alongside the Finals for players who did not qualify, giving the weekend both a crown-jewel feel and a wider competitive showcase.

The singles draws produced the other major storylines. Kate Fahey seized the women’s singles title after Anna Leigh Waters withdrew because of a knee issue, and the victory gave Fahey her third title of the season and seventh career women’s singles crown. That pushes her to third all-time in the event, behind Waters and Catherine Parenteau. In men’s singles, Christopher Haworth continued his rise with the title, bringing him to eight career championships and tying him with Hunter Johnson for third all-time behind Johns and Federico Staksrud.

For amateur players tracking where the sport is headed next, the message from San Clemente was clear. Johns and Waters still own the top of the game, but Fahey and Haworth left the Finals with momentum, and the depth behind the headliners is deep enough to keep 2026 conversation moving well beyond the season’s final medals.