Lakeland, Florida — November 18–23, 2025

The 2025 PPA Veolia Lakeland Open delivered four days of high-quality pickleball, with 248 matches, packed stands, and plenty of drama-filled moments. The tournament produced an unexpected breakout from rising star, Roscoe Bellamy, earning his first career men's gold medal at a PPA event.


Tournament Overview

  • 248 total matches
  • 8600 total points
  • 233 teams
  • 8213 total minutes of game time
  • Averaging 15 minutes per game

Rally stats showed a fast-paced but technical weekend. Rallies averaged 18.5 seconds each, with the longest extending to an incredible 4 minutes and 9 seconds between Audrey Banada & MJ Marrero and Brandon Riddle & Lauren Hidalgo-Smith.


Efficiency Breakdown

Players combined for 14,064 total serves, converting at a 59.7% serve efficiency rate and a 40.3% return success rate. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters again stood out statistically, as their offense still reigned supreme, including a five-game mixed doubles final that tallied a tournament-high 86 total points.


Tournament Highlights and Records


Player Efficiency Leaders

Top Servers (Minimum 50 Serves)

  1. Etta Tuionetoa: 82.42% (75/91)
  2. Ryan Fu: 72.73% (56/77)
  3. Parris Todd: 72.31% (94/130)
  4. James Ignatowich: 70.91% (39/55)
  5. Ben Johns: 70.59% (144/204)

Tuionetoa’s near-perfect serve performance was one of the stories of the weekend, giving her an edge even against higher-ranked opponents. Johns once again maintained elite consistency, converting over 70% of his serves while averaging more than 28 rally wins per match.


Top Return/Defensive Efficiency (Minimum 50 Returns)

  1. Anna Leigh Waters: 54.31% (145/267)
  2. Mohaned Alhouni: 52.70% (39/74)
  3. Gabriel Tardio: 52.21% (59/113)
  4. Tama Shimabukuro: 51.11% (46/90)
  5. Hurricane Tyra Black: 50.51% (50/99)

In Lakeland, ALW's resilience was on full display. In the mixed doubles final against JW and Jorja Johnson, Waters absorbed relentless pressure from Jorja’s crosscourt dinks, grinding through long defensive exchanges and outlasting one of the tour’s most physical matches. Her ability to stay patient in this tournament, then flip defense into counterattacks, was a defining factor in the five-game victory.


Last Notes

After Anna Leigh Waters secured her 3rd gold medal of the day, it marked her *39th career Triple Crown, extending her legacy as one of the greatest players in pro pickleball history.