Pickleball Magazine 3-3 | Page 33

MINTO US OPEN PICKLEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

There ’ s no party like a pickleball party — and the 2018 Minto US Open Pickleball Championships ( powered by Margaritaville ) co-founders Terri Graham and Chris Evon can throw a shindig like no other .

From April 21-29 , the East Naples Community Park in Naples , Florida , became the nation ’ s hotspot when more than 20,000 spectators arrived to watch 2,000 players , representing 47 states and 20 countries .
The recent boom of the sport has brought in worldclass talent from many backgrounds including : tennis , badminton , racquetball , table tennis and more . The topplayers unanimously agreed the 2018 Minto US Open showcased the best pickleball play ever assembled in one location . Every gold medal match for each age and / or skill event was routinely touted as “ the best ever .” The ages of the participants ranged in age from 10-91 years .
The nine-day event kicked off with “ Kid ’ s Day ” on Friday and Margaritaville ’ s Party in the Park on Saturday . These days set the stage for the fun and exciting atmosphere that was to follow .
Sunday was the day designated for singles play . In the Men ’ s Open Singles , Tyson McGuffin , coming off his USAPA National Singles title in November , triumphed over Kyle Yates to become the Open champion . Yates ’ loss in the finals would be his only defeat as he would come back with a vengeance in the pro doubles events . In the women ’ s singles , Simone Jardim continued her dominance on the ladies tour by taking down Lucy Kovalova in the finals . Newcomer Kaitlyn Christian
demonstrated she ’ ll be a force to be reckoned with , as she earned the bronze medal .
The Senior Open Pro Singles events featured National Champion Scott Moore continuing his gold medal streak in his win over Brian Staub . Cammy MacGregor also remained ahead of the senior women ’ s game by defeating Jennifer Dawson .
The next six days featured professional , skill-level and age-based doubles events that would culminate with the Pro Open Doubles and Mixed Doubles Championship finals being played on Saturday on the stadium court before a packed house of 1,300 spectators and broadcast by CBS Sports as part of a multi-year contract with the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships .
The Saturday evening Dick ’ s Sporting Goods Championship Celebration kicked off with a “ flags from around the world ” center-court parade . There were players representing 20 countries carrying their home flags .
Immediately following the electrifying parade on
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The amount of people who flew in just to be a part of this party atmosphere was astounding .

MINTO US OPEN PICKLEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
( powered by Margaritaville )
MAY / JUNE 2018 | MAGAZINE 31