The GOAT Has Fallen: Pickleball Legend Ben Johns Loses 3 Straight Gold Medal Matches In A Single Day
Bruce Yeung. Getty Images.Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
If you've ever heard about pickleball before, then you've likely at least heard the name "Ben Johns" before. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters are the two biggest names in pickleball, and for good reason. They have both been so dominant for so long that it really didn't even matter to learn anybody else's name. They have the most gold medals in PPA Tour history, and it's not even close. Like way more than 100 more than the next players on the list.
But for the past couple of years, Ben Johns has certainly passed the torch in pickleball singles to the next wave of players. He's still been ridiculously dominant in men's doubles and mixed doubles, but he hasn't been the king of singles for a while. The last time Ben Johns won a Triple Crown (winning gold in singles, gender doubles, and mixed doubles) was in April 2024. He had the chance to win his first triple crown in over 2 years yesterday in Vegas.
First up was a singles final against Hunter Johnson.
That ends up being a tough loss in 2 games, 11-1 and 11-3.
Okay, no big deal. Ben Johns isn't much of a singles player these days anyway. He still has men's doubles and mixed doubles to play. The pairing of Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio has been the best duo on the men's side of the game. They have been undefeated in 2026 so far. They were taking on Andrei Daescu and Christian Alshon in the final, who were coming off of a win in Arizona last week. But Gabe Tardio wasn't playing in that tournament. Surely they'd add another gold medal yesterday….
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Nope. Daescu and Alshon win 11-6, 11-8.
Okay so that's 0-for-2 in gold medal matches so far. But at the very least, there is always mixed doubles to fall back on. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. Two GOATs, one partnership. The #1 ranked men's player in the world playing with the #1 ranked women's player in the world. The two people who have won more than anybody else combined in this sport. Obviously they'd take home the gold yesterday, even if they had to go up against a great team in Hayden Patriquin and Anna Bright.
Orrrrrrr maybe not. Bright and Patriquin win 11-9, 11-7. It's even more impressive when you mix in the fact that Hayden Patriquin was celebrating his 21st birthday in Vegas all week, so it's crazy he was even able to see the ball out there.
Now sure, you could say that Ben Johns had the best tournament out of everybody considering he was the only player going for gold in all 3 disciplines yesterday. But then it becomes the LeBron debate where he makes it to a million NBA Finals, but usually ends up losing. It was without a doubt a shitty day for Ben Johns, but ultimately it was a great day for pickleball. Because that's what you need for pro sports to grow. You need storylines to change. You need to have a GOAT, but eventually you need that gap to start closing in with everybody else catching up. Parity and chaos is a great thing in pro sports.