Pro play at the Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships kicked off Monday with the men’s and women’s split pro age brackets.
An event unique to Nationals, split-age doubles teams must consist of one player over and one player under the age of 50.
These requirements led to some pretty memorable combinations on the court.
These pairs included Callan Dawson teaming up with his father Steve; JW Johnson joining forces with his coach Mircea Morariu; and Riley Newman playing alongside mental performance coach Dayne Gingrich, among others.
The Dawson duo certainly made their impression on the draw by taking out world No. 1 Ben Johns and PPA Tour investor, Tom Dundon, in the quarterfinals.
Callan attributes the duo’s success to the familiarity they have with each other from playing together daily.
“It’s mentally easy, partnership-wise, because we know exactly what we’re gonna do,” he explained.
In the semis, they ran into the team of Johnson and coach Morariu.
The ladder emerged victorious after a back-and-forth match, eventually taking the third game 11-5.
Even though the 22-year-old and his coach don’t play together very often, Johnson admits that he enjoyed being able to team up to take on the world’s best.
“It’s pretty…
