STORYLINES FOR THE FANATICS SPORTSBOOK NORTH CAROLINA CUP

OVERALL TOP 5:

100 CROWNS: Anna Leigh Waters is a triple crown away from 100 PPA Tour titles.
PICKLE AND PUCKS: Saturday Pro-Am features Carolina Hurricanes NHL alumni and PPA pros – no checking allowed.
BIG POPPA IS BACK: James Ignatowich returns – Daescu won two golds in his spot in Austin.
DO YOU KNOW THE McGUFFIN MAN?: Tyson McGuffin will play all 3 events, back from injury.
CARY IS SO VERY: New outdoor venue for NC tournament this year.

VENUE/TOURNEY/TV:

Event #6 of the year – one of 6 Cups in 2024, with 1500 points up for grabs for the winners.
Progression Draw (playing all disciplines each day, with quarters Friday, semis Saturday, finals Sunday).
Coverage on Prime Video and PickleballTV
Broadcast start times are 11am Eastern Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Saturday coverage begins at 10am with a 2pm start for the Celebrity Pro-Am.

WOMEN’S SINGLES:

Defending medalists: Anna Leigh Waters, Lea Jansen, Salome Devidze
Austin finalist Kaitlyn Christian (11) looks to make another deep singles run.
Genie Bouchard (18) will battle her doubles partner Dominique Schaefer (10).
Salome Devidze (5) won her last tournament in Minnesota.
WATCH OUT FOR: Anna Leigh Waters (1) – she is back in the singles draw after skipping singles in Austin with a minor injury.

MEN’S SINGLES:

Defending medalists: Federico Staksrud, Tyson McGuffin, Christian Alshon
Ignatowich is in the singles draw as the 37 seed.
After a slow start in singles, Ben Johns (1) has won his last two singles events.
Potential round of 16 match featuring NC resident Jack Sock (11) and Jaume Martinez Vich (6) would be must see TV.
WATCH OUT FOR: Federico Staksrud (2) – can he make a 6^th consecutive singles final?

MIXED DOUBLES:

Defending medalists: Waters/Sock, Jones/Newman, Parenteau/McGuffin
David/Wilson (3) consistently hit the podium – tougher draw in the Waters/Johns half.
Fun partnerships to watch: Wright/Rettenmaier (11), Todd/Arnold (14), Jackie Kawamoto/Alshon (15), Stratman/Hewett (16), and Alix Truong/Collin Johns (23).
Parenteau/Sock (6) – Sock is the defending champ with ALW – can he and CP make a final?
WATCH OUT FOR: Bright/Ignatowich (2) – Bright/Daescu beat Waters/Johns in the Austin final.

WOMEN’S DOUBLES:

Defending medalists: Waters/Parenteau, Grechkina/Stratman, Irvine/Jackie Kawamoto
Rachel Rohrabacher and Anna Bright (2) are looking to win 3 titles in a row.
Waters and Parenteau (1) are undefeated Tuesday through Sunday.
NC resident Brooke Buckner and Lina Padegimaite are a dangerous 11 seed.
WATCH OUT FOR: Smith/Jansen (5) – can this new team catch fire?

MEN’S DOUBLES:

Defending medalists: Newman/Wright, Johnson/Frazier, Rettenmaier/Deakin
Johns brothers (1) look to return to the top of the podium after being upset in their Austin backyard.
Matt Wright is the defending champion (final victory with Newman) and won last week in Austin with Daescu. Back with Ignatowich as the 2 seed.
WATCH OUT FOR: Minnesota winners Wilson and Alshon (5) – reunited in NC and could face Johns brothers in the quarters.

Do you want to join pickleball sports yourself? You can also become a member supplying pickleball equipment. LDK offer one stop solution for you.

LDK,as China One stop supplier of sports courts facilities and equipments for pickleball court, soccer courts, basketball courts, padel courts, tennis courts, gymnastics courts etc.

Currently, pickleball equipment is best seller. Product covers different grade of pickleball post, including competition post to training grade post, movable or underground design.

LDK also offer solution of flooring. Except the traditional plastic flooring solution, LDK just launch a new PVC flooring special for pickleball. Both indoor and outdoor flooring meet Pickleball International Association standards and is designed specifically for use on pickleball courts, LDK pickleball indoor PVC flooring combined by several layer. The surface is a super-hard wear-resistant layer, which is more wear-resistant damage.The high-strength fiber stabilizing layer is entrained to ensure the stability of the material and the material shrinkage ratio is greatly reduced. And the outdoor flooring surface layer is designed with nano-anti-slip particles, and also using Ac outdoor outer coating (anti-ultraviolet, anti-ozone, anti-acid rain), it is super anti-skid and has strong weather resistance.