USA Pickleball Nationals Brings Together Top Pros and Amateurs

The Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona, hosted the 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships Nov. 9-17 with 41 outdoor pickleball courts, including a fully shaded stadium court, in the 300-acre complex. With a purse of $225,000, this year’s tournament was the richest to date.

While the professional men and women in pickleball garner the most attention, it is the amateur sector that grows exponentially every year. For this event, approximately 2,400 players registered in the amateur divisions, reaching capacity well in advance of the cutoff date.

“Having so many players register for our premier event is a huge testament to the growth of the sport,” said Mike Nealy, chief executive officer of USA Pickleball. “Our USA Pickleball team was energized and ready to execute an incredible event, ensuring that our athletes have the best possible experience while they compete at the highest levels.”

If there’s strength in numbers, USA Pickleball is hitting its stride at 40 years old. It boasts a membership of more than 80,000 pickleball enthusiasts. And, since the organization is always looking to expand its reach among players, new to the event this year was a wheelchair division. These participants have played in the past, but mainly in a separate bracket. Now they are part of the official tournament.

“At USA Pickleball, we’re committed to ensuring that pickleball is a sport for all, including varying abilities of players,” said Justin Maloof, chief competition officer. “We’ve featured wheelchair pickleball in past Nationals, but this year marks the first time these divisions can compete.”

While many of the pro player marquee names were not part of the competitive landscape in Mesa, the level of play was exceedingly high.

Top-ranked Chris Haworth of Oklahoma City swept through the men’s singles bracket, capturing the gold medal with a win over Patrick Kawka. Haworth made it to the finals with an easy 11-0, 11-3 win over Max Green in the semifinals while Kawka had a tougher time with second-seeded Grayson Goldin, winning in three games, 11-9, 7-11 and 11-9.

“It’s a few point swings here and there, it’s a game of runs… I just got a little luckier,” said Kawka after the semifinal.

He had a premonition of sorts when seeing Haworth before his first-round match. Kawka jokingly told him, “I’ll see you in the finals.”

And see he did. Entering the championship match, Kawka knew he had his hands full with Haworth and echoed the thoughts that are on a lot of people’s minds these days: “If Chris plays as well as he can play, he’s the best singles player on the planet right now.” Well, Haworth proved just that, winning 11-1, 14-12 after a beautifully placed crosscourt backhand winner from the kitchen line to close out the match.

“I think I have shown that when I’m playing my ‘A’ game, I can beat anyone in the world,” said Haworth. “But I also think singles is such a game of runs that there are a lot of guys who can get hot and compete with all the top players.”

Over on the women’s side of the draw, there may be a new shining star on the horizon. Bobbi Oshiro, who is originally from Honolulu and now calls Plantation, Florida, home, didn’t drop a game throughout the entire tournament. She had a tough match in the Round of 16 with Nicole Eugenio, eventually coming out on top, 11-9, 11-6. She then defeated Shelby Bates in the quarterfinals 11-5, 11-0, and followed that up with a semifinal win over Megan Fudge, who many considered the favorite to win the event.

After a tough first game that the fourth-seeded Oshiro won 11-9, she breezed through the second game, winning 11-1. Against Miami’s Alexa Schull—who got through to the finals with wins over Alejandra Lopez Borobia from Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals, and a straight-game win over Amanda Hendry in the semis—Oshiro captured the title when, on championship point, she hit a deft slice backhand dink at the net that Schull was unable to reach. The diminutive Oshiro, who stands just 5' 2", took home the gold with a scorecard that read 13-11, 11-2.

“All of these players are incredible athletes, but I definitely felt confident in my singles game going into the second set of each match. I take pride in being steady and consistent, focusing on making a lot of balls when it counts,” said Oshiro. “I’ve also been putting in work on my mental game and off-court fitness lately, so it’s been great to see that pay off in my singles matches.”

Oshiro didn’t stop there. Playing mixed doubles with partner Will Howells for the fourth time this year, she and Howells took home gold with an 11-9, 11-6 win over Amanda Hendry and William Sobek. The tandem, who both live in southern Florida, made their way into the finals with an 11-5, 11-0 win over Jill Braverman and Eric Oncins.

“We’ve actually known each other for a couple of years now, so it’s been great building that friendship off the court as well,” Oshiro noted. “It definitely makes a difference when you’re playing with someone you trust and communicate well with, both in terms of understanding each other’s strengths and being supportive when things don’t go as planned.”

While Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau, among a few other women, have grabbed most of the sport’s headlines the past few years, Oshiro feels that she’s not far off from consistently competing for gold in women’s singles.

“I have a ton of respect for Anna Leigh and Catherine—they’ve both set such a high standard for the women’s game, and they’ve really pushed the sport forward. I see myself being competitive with both, and so are others who are continually working hard to elevate their game.”

Howells collected some more hardware in men’s doubles, teaming with Jack Munro. The duo defeated Erik Lange and the player who wins, hands down, best name of the tournament—Purple Jesus Manthou—11-8, 11-9.

In women’s doubles action, Oshiro was playing with Kelsey Grambeau, but didn’t get out of the quarters, losing to Emily Cederquist and Yana Newell. That pair lost in the semifinals to the eventual champions, Megan Fudge and Jill Braverman, who made easy work of Mari Humberg and Allison Harris, 11-0, 11-4.

In the Senior Pro Men’s Doubles final, the team of Mircea Morariu/Dave Weinbach defeated Jaime Oncins and Rick Witsken, 11-8, 7-11 and 11-8.

In mixed doubles action, Oncins paired with Lee Whitwell to capture gold, beating the duo of Jose Derisi and Sheri Courter, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10.

Over in Men’s Senior Pro Singles, Mattias Johansson cruised to an 11-7, 11-0 gold medal win against Paul Olin.

In the QVC Senior Pro Women’s Doubles final, the team of Nathalie Bagby and Elizabeth Bellamy defeated Cammy MacGregor and Jennifer Dawson, 11-5, 11-7.

And, in closing out the bracket for the QVC Senior Pro Women’s Singles final, Jennifer Dawson beat Lee Whitwell 11-3, 11-6.

With the advent of an official wheelchair division at Nationals, history was made in Mesa. Winning the Triple Crown is an unforgettable accomplishment for any pickleballer, and for Taylor Nichols, his time spent in and around the Arizona Athletic Grounds will be memorable. Capturing the title in singles, doubles and mixed doubles propelled the 32-year-old into the spotlight.

Nichols earned the singles crown with an 11-5, 12-10 win over Carl Cogdill. He then teamed with Jenna Maury in hybrid doubles and defeated Gina Jenkins and Carl Cogdill 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, while in wheelchair doubles he played alongside Gina Jenkins and won a tough match against Marianne Orr and Corey White with scores of 11-5, 9-11, and 11-9.

Nichols and the other 10 wheelchair athletes participating in Nationals were beyond elated to be able to display their talents among some of the world’s finest pickleballers. 

“There were some incredible athletes at Nationals,” he noted. “We were all just excited to finally be included in the top competition and prove that despite any limitations, an athlete is an athlete! We want to showcase our talent and competitiveness just like any other athlete. I know this is just the beginning and there’s no doubt in my mind, next year’s divisions will be twice as big.”

Nichols, who’s from Burleson, Texas, was racing professional motocross when he broke his back during a race in December of 2017, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Fast-forward to 2023 when, on a play date to Chicken N Pickle, he picked up a paddle for the first time and realized how inclusive the sport is. He hasn’t stopped playing since.

“As the adaptive/wheelchair side of the sport grows and players evolve, studying the game will become easier,” added Nichols.

By including a wheelchair division at this year’s Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships, other tournaments may follow suit and implement a bracket that is beginning to attract more players across the country.

“More importantly, I hope the general population sees us as athletes who are passionate about the game, and just because we use a wheelchair to navigate, we don’t let the wheelchair define us,” said Nichols.

“I hope we inspire others to get out and learn the game despite any condition, limitations and/or disability. There are a lot of adaptive players across the nation who are looking for opportunities to compete at these high-level tournaments, so there’s definitely a need.

“It’s intriguing for others to watch and compete alongside adaptive athletes, as it helps bridge that gap between diverse communities and proves pickleball truly is for everyone. It’s a huge win for the sport!”  •

Drew Wathey is a published author and screenwriter (“A Season With Hope”) and former director of communications for the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open. Wathey is the owner of SportsLink, a home-based sports public relations and marketing company. He is also a national sports anchor for iHeart Radio. His family lives in Phoenix, Arizona.