Bright & Patriquin End Waters/Johns Streak with Dominant Mesa Cup Sweep

Bright & Patriquin End Waters/Johns Streak with Dominant Mesa Cup Sweep

The streak is over.

No. 3 seeds Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin accomplished what many thought impossible—defeating the dominant pairing of Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns in convincing fashion at the Carvana Mesa Cup Presented by Cal-AM.

The Upset

Bright and Patriquin stunned the No. 1 seeds with a clean 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 sweep in the mixed doubles final, marking one of the most decisive victories ever over the Waters/Johns powerhouse.

Redemption Arc

The win was particularly sweet for Bright and Patriquin, who had match point against the same duo just weeks ago in Cape Coral before letting it slip away in a heartbreaking five-game loss.

“I felt a lot of nerves,” Bright admitted post-match. “Even though it was 10-3, I was so nervous… I basically gave Ben an overhead [with my third shot]. I was literally smiling after the shot, but thankfully, it was better than an error.”

The emotions poured out after championship point, particularly for Patriquin.

“I have my friends here, my family… I’m kind of emotional. Honestly, I’m going to cry,” Patriquin said. “It feels amazing. It’s like the best team.”

For a pair that had lost six straight matches to Waters and Johns—many in deciding games—the breakthrough was especially meaningful.

“No one beats us seven times in a row,” Bright added with a smile.

Tactical Breakthrough

The key difference in Mesa? Hayden Patriquin’s aggressive play.

Patriquin dominated the middle of the court, attacking at full speed and driving balls directly at Waters’ and Johns’ chests. This strategy shrunk their reaction time and prevented them from dictating the hands battles that typically favor the world’s top pair.

He also mixed in creative kitchen line offense, using drop shots and soft placements to disrupt rhythm—keeping Waters and Johns from settling into their preferred baseline exchanges.

By the Numbers

The statistics underscore the dominance:

  • 18–3 advantage in clean winners
    • 14 winners from Patriquin
    • 4 winners from Bright

That kind of disparity is virtually unheard of against a team as defensively elite as Waters and Johns.

What This Means

This victory signals a potential shift in the mixed doubles landscape. While Waters and Johns remain the gold standard, Bright and Patriquin have proven they have the formula to beat them—and beat them decisively.

With the PPA Tour heading toward the prestigious PPA Finals later this season, this rivalry just became must-watch pickleball.

Source: PPA Tour / Pickleball.com