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| APP $50k Pro XR Pickleball Men’s Pro Singles Gold Medalists JW Johnson did not lose a match all day in taking the title. |
3. Jorja Johnson’s Big Stage Appearance (Slim) – Jorja Johnson often lives in her brother JW’s and even her mother Julie’s shadow in the pickleball world. Given that she is only 15 years old, and the successes the latter two have had on the pickleball court this season, it makes sense that this has been the case. This weekend though, Jorja got her own prime time slot as she made the women’s singles gold medal match.
Jorja showcased her potential with dominant wins over Jessie Irvine and Annica Cooper. Her 15-1 win over Cooper, who has proven to be a very reliable singles player, was particularly impressive and she also made Irina Tereschenko work in the gold medal match, taking her to three games.
At the start of this season, we thought Jorja had some potential, but that she was likely a few years away. It now looks like she may be closer than we initially thought. It’s a reminder of how malleable the younger players are (Wyatt Stone Jr. is another example of crazy growth over the past couple year). Jorja is definitely someone to keep an eye on in 2022. One of her big advantages is the fact that she has JW as a practice partner. Given her natural abilities and having the highest level of drilling partner, I would expect her quick ascent to continue next year. Jorja even alluded in interviews this weekend to how easy things seem playing singles compared to playing with JW. She may not be the smoothest player out there but we have to start getting over that for players who don’t have as much in the way of traditional racket sports training, especially the younger ones like Jorja.
In her doubles game, patience is an area that Jorja continues to need to work on, as she has great hands, but often is too quick to pull the trigger. That patience should come with time, and experience though. It will be something to watch who she partners with next year – it looks like she should have some more with Lee Whitwell.
