Jennifer Dawson and Cammy MacGregor win gold in Senior Women ’ s Pro Doubles .
Photo by Bruce Yeung ; IG : @ YEUNGPHOTOGRAPHY
The Dayne Gingrich and Riley Newman duo wins gold in Men ’ s Pro Split Age Doubles . JW Johnson and Mircea Morariu took silver .
Photo by Michael Gauthier . upset third-seeded Parenteau-Jansen . It looked like it was going to be an easy ride to gold for Parenteau and Jansen as they won the first game handily , 11-1 . But , with one match point on their paddles in game 2 , Koop and Tereschenko fought back and captured it 13-11 . “ I really think that once we lost the second game — and having one match point — we decided to go for it and play to win and not to lose , and that ’ s what we did and we won the last game 11-5 ,” said Parenteau .
Playing in front of her hometown crowd was especially meaningful for Parenteau who , like so many others involved in the sport of pickleball , has gravitated to this picturesque southern Florida community . And , of course , she has embraced the Open , which is unique among other tournaments in the country . “ The tournament atmosphere is unlike any other at the US Open ! There is always a very large and engaged crowd on center court , and as a professional athlete , this is one of my favorite environments to compete in ,” explained Parenteau .
Winning the Triple Crown at an event is one of her goals in 2022 . So far , the year has gotten off to quite an impressive start for the 40-time winner on the PPA Tour . “ Winning any title at the US Open is an amazing feeling , but I would say winning the doubles and singles titles this year were both very special to me for different reasons ,” said Parenteau . “ Winning the singles title was unique because I have competed in the event at the US Open for many years and I have never medaled before . This year , I was not only able to medal , but I won gold ! The doubles title was very special to me as well because I won the doubles title last year in 2021 , and winning a title at the US Open back-to-back is no small feat . I have worked hard and dedicated a lot of time and energy to my training , so to see it pay off on such a large stage like the US Open is something I ’ ll never forget .”
If it seems to you like pickleball is garnering an incredible amount of attention of late , you ’ re not alone . The mainstream media is starting to take notice as more and more high-profile personalities with backyard pickleball courts are springing up throughout the United States . One of the reasons for this onslaught of attention and accelerated growth in the sport is a national tour .
“ The PPA Tour has helped the growth of pickleball tremendously by adding so many tournaments to the calendar , increasing visibility , and increasing prize money , which allows players to play pickleball professionally as a career rather than as a hobby as we used to ,” explained Parenteau , who also owns her
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MAY / JUNE 2022 | MAGAZINE 45