The Association of Pickleball Players (APP) showcased the very best women in pickleball while supporting an incredible cause, with three exciting gold medal matches rounding out the 2025 APP Women’s Open presented by The James. Pickle & Chill hosted three spectacular days of action, celebration, and community engagement all in the name of breast cancer research.

The APP Women’s Cancer Fund was the primary beneficiary of the event, established in collaboration with The James. All proceeds from the fund will support research and treatment of breast, gynecologic, and other cancers affecting women. There’s still time to donate today!  

The tournament also featured activities, activations, giveaways from community partners such as AARP, Victoria’s Secret & Co., CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, City Wide Facility Solutions of Columbus, Charles Smith Wines, Humana, iNCREDIWEAR, OWL, and Toyota.

Lee Whitwell was the big winner, earning a Triple Crown with two golds in the AARP Champions (50+) Division alongside the split-age women’s pro doubles title alongside Daria Walczak, who secured her first career APP Tour gold. Jill Braverman and Megan Fudge won their fifth women’s pro doubles golds of the season, while Sofia Sewing took home her sixth singles title.

The 2025 APP Women's Open presented by The James also showcased a large field of amateur players of all ages and skill levels from across the country, plus the AARP Champions and Masters Pro Divisions. In addition, a special amateur team event was held on Friday evening featuring 16 teams of players. Pro players battled for hardware and prize money, and all amateur medalists earned an APP Passport guaranteeing pre-registration for the season-ending 2025 APP Tour Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  

Women's Split-Age Pro Doubles

The championship slate began with women’s split-age pro doubles, a unique event in which a pro 50 or older pairs with a pro younger than 50, resulting in some all-new partnerships. AARP Champions Division standout Lee Whitwell paired with Daria Walczak, while Shelby Bates teamed up with Cantillon Endara. The first two games were neck-and-neck, with Walczak and Whitwell taking game one while Bates and Endara emerged victorious in game two. In the third game, Walczak and Whitwell came out firing and never looked back, cruising 11-1 to clinch the gold. The win marked Whitwell’s third gold of the tournament, securing a triple crown, and Walczak’s first career APP Tour gold medal.

“We’d just grind the points over and over again,” said Walczak. “We had some crazy points, and it was just exciting pickleball.”

Whitwell had nothing but praise for her teammate, adding: “Daria’s super positive and a strategist like me. “Her height, her athleticism, being super positive, and keeping it fun and lighthearted out there, plus our strategy, was a winning combination.”

Megan Fudge and Angela Simon earned the split-age women’s doubles bronze in Columbus.

Women's Pro Doubles

In the women’s pro doubles final, defending champions Shelby Bates and Sofia Sewing faced off against Jill Braverman and Megan Fudge in a rematch from the 2025 APP Chicago Open. Eager to avenge their loss, Braverman and Fudge started strong and took game one, 11-4. Bates and Sewing responded in kind, dominating game two, 11-2. Another strong start fueled Braverman and Fudge in game three, as they pulled away late for an 11-6 win and earned their fifth women’s pro doubles title as a duo.

Asked what the key was to victory, Braverman said: “It’s always the simple stuff - playing our game, high energy, great footwork. But if you don’t execute it well, execute it better.”

Fudge added: “Believing in each other. We knew we were doing the right things, it’s just [about] executing it and reminding each other that we’ve got the skills.”

Allison Harris and Amanda Hendry teamed up for women’s doubles bronze.

Women’s Pro Singles

It was a battle of the champions in the women’s pro singles final, as defending champ Sofia Sewing took on 2024 APP Women’s Open women’s singles gold medalist and Ohio native Shannon Pretorius. Following a tough women’s doubles match Sewing was ready to roll, jumping out to a 9-1 lead and winning game one, 15-4. Sewing held a close 10-8 advantage in game two before a medical timeout from Pretorius briefly halted the match. Sewing seized the momentum right away, winning game two 15-8 to secure her sixth APP Tour women’s doubles gold medal of 2025.

“I wanted to go in right away and be as aggressive as I could,” Sewing said. “Credit to [Shannon] for reaching the finals, she had a tough fall there, but I’m very excited to win my sixth gold. Thank you to the APP Tour for putting on this amazing event for us and to be able to play for something bigger than just us is really special.”

Jessica Warren won the women’s pro singles bronze medal, her first of 2025.

AARP Champions and Masters Pro Action

In AARP Champions (50+) and Masters Division (60+) competition in Columbus, Lee Whitwell earned three gold medals for a triple crown. Whitwell teamed up with Angela Simon for the women’s doubles gold and with Walczak for split-age women’s doubles gold, then won the women’s singles title.

Additional Details

Full tournament results are available here. Highlights from the 2025 APP Women's Open presented by The James will air nationwide on ESPN2 on October 14 from 3-5 pm ET.

The APP Tour gets right back to action next week with the 2025 AARP Open Oct. 8-12 at the APP’s global headquarters, The Fort, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More information about upcoming APP events—including APP Tour dates, player registration and ticket information—is available on theapp.global. Pickleball enthusiasts can also stay in the know by following the APP on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and LinkedIn.