Pickleball history was made in Sacramento as Sofia Sewing became the sixth woman in the history of the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) to win a Triple Crown. The superstar from South Florida dazzled with three gold medals in front of a capacity crowd at the 2026 APP Sacramento Open Benefiting Shriners Children’s as part of the official tour of pickleball.

Sewing’s historic feat was just the 15th occurrence in APP Tour history, and she became the 11th player to do so.  

“I’m over the moon,” Sewing said following the clinching match. “I couldn’t be happier, honestly. I feel like I could cry. I’m at a loss for words.”

The world’s best pickleball players were front and center at Spare Time Sports Club’s sprawling Johnson Ranch facility, also featuring the AARP Champions (50+) and Masters (60+) Pro Divisions and hundreds of amateur players of all ages and skill levels competing for prize money, hardware, and to earn their spots in the 2026 USA Pickleball National Championships.

Shriners Children’s APP Pro Invitational

The festivities began on Wednesday, April 29 with a competition like none other, the inaugural Shriners Children’s APP Pro Invitational. Men’s and women’s doubles competition invited 24 of the APP Tour’s top pros facing off in an epic showdown for a great cause, featuring unique twists and high-octane fun throughout.  

First, the six men’s and six women’s doubles teams faced each other in Power Rounds to determine seeding for the knockout Championship Rounds. In the men’s competition, Jack Munro and Richard Livornese, Jr.defeated Max Manthou and Aidan Schenk, 11-1, 9-11, 11-2 to take home the championship. On the women’s side, Megan Fudge and Sofia Sewing beat Jill Braverman and Emilia Schmidt, 11-6, 11-1 to earn the women’s title.

Following the competition, the APP Tour pro players gathered on Championship Court to present Shriners Children’s with their own donation to the organization, culminating in nearly $40,000 raised in total from the event.Full highlights from the Shriners Children’s APP Pro Invitational are available via APPTV on YouTube.

APP Sacramento Open Benefiting Shriners Children’s

As the page turned to Thursday, the full APP Tour pro ranks began a four-day tournament to crown its champions.  

Women's Pro Singles

Sewing’s triple crown quest began with women’s pro singles, as she took on Australia native Seone Mendez. Sewing dominated game one, 11-2, before Mendez responded impressively, 11-7, in game two. Game three was neck-and-neck throughout, with Mendez holding match point at 10-8. Sewing dug deep and rallied off four straight points to win 12-10, securing her first gold of the afternoon.

“It took a lot of willpower and a lot of fight,” Sewing said following the win. “I’m so happy I was able to pull it out. A big thanks to the crowd for their energy.”

Domenika Turkovic earned her second women’s doubles bronze medal in as many events to start her 2026 season.

Men's Pro Singles

The men’s pro singles final pitted No. 2-seed Ammar Wazir against No. 5-seed Patrick Kawka, with each player looking for his first gold medal of the season. Wazir erased an early 6-1 deficit en route to an 11-9 win in game one. The Chicago native maintained his momentum in game two and came out on top, 11-7, to clinch his first APP Tour gold medal of 2026.

“I had a disappointing result in Seattle, so I was really looking forward to this tournament trying to bounce back and prove I could still play,” Wazir said. “Luckily this week went well for me, and I’m super happy about it.”

Dusty Boyer earned the men’s singles bronze in Sacramento for his first APP Tour medal of the year.

Women’s Pro Doubles

Sewing’s conquest continued as she and Megan Fudge battled Vivian Glozman and Roos Van Reek in the women’s pro doubles final. Fudge and Sewing proved why they’re the top women’s pairing on tour with an 11-2 win in game one. The duo opened up game two on a 7-0 run, but Glozman and Van Reek battled back furiously and eventually took the game, 11-8. Tied at 4-4 in the third game, Fudge and Sewing took control and never looked back, winning 11-6 for the gold – Sewing's second of the tournament.

“We really have a lot of belief and trust in each other, and we enjoy competing,” Sewing said. “We enjoy the fight, and it shows when we’re out there together.”

Fudge was quick to praise her opponents following the win, stating, “Credit to Roos and Vivian, they played a fantastic match. We knew they could turn it on any time, they kept fighting and came back in the second game. We’re going to see a lot more of them this year. It was a really fun match.”

Bobbi Oshiro and Katerina Stewart earned women’s doubles bronze.

Men's Pro Doubles

Top men’s pro doubles seeds Richard Livornese, Jr. and Jack Munro faced off against No. 7-seeds Robert Slutsky and Zack Taylor, making their first finals appearance as a duo since November 2025. Both games were tightly contested, but Livornese, Jr. and Munro pulled away late each time as they won 11-8 and 11-9 for their first gold medals of 2026.

“We love getting to come out here and compete,” Livornese, Jr. said. “It was such an amazing tournament, and getting to fight next to this guy [Jack] means the world to me, so I loved it.”

“We simplified a lot of our game plans throughout the week, figured out what felt good and what didn’t, and we pattern locked,” added Munro. “It’s been amazing.”

Max Manthou and Thomas Yu earned their second-straight men’s doubles bronze medals to start the season.

Mixed Pro Doubles

One match remained, and all that stood between Sofia Sewing and a Triple Crown was the mixed pro doubles final, where she and Casey Diamond faced the formidable duo of Megan Fudge and Richard Livornese, Jr. With one goal in mind, Sewing and Diamond simply would not be stopped, as they defeated their opponents 11-8, 11-7 to secure the gold, and clinch Sewing’s historic accomplishment.

“Big congrats to Casey, because I know it was a lot of pressure,” Sewing said. “I know it’s not easy when it’s the last match, so I couldn’t be more proud of us as a team.”

“We were the 36-seeds a year ago,” added Diamond. “This was the first tournament we were the one-seeds and it finished with a Triple Crown. It means everything, and I’m so incredibly proud of Sofia.”

Christine Maddox and Max Manthou earned mixed doubles bronze in Sacramento.

AARP Champions Pro Action
In AARP Champions Division (50+) competition in Sacramento, Lee Whitwell and Youssef Bouzidi took home two gold medals apiece. Whitwell teamed with Eugenia Carolina Lopez Ascarate for the women’s doubles title, and with Jaime Oncins for mixed doubles gold. Bouzidi won the men’s singles title and paired with Dayne Gingrich for men’s doubles gold. Karin Ptaszek-Kochis won her first gold medal of the season, as the women’s singles champion.

AARP Masters Pro Action
In AARP Masters Division (60+) action, Anna Shirley and Lee Sponaugle each won two gold medals, including the mixed doubles title together. Sponaugle also took home the men’s singles title, while Shirley earned women’s doubles gold alongside Nathalie Bagby. Todd Murphy and Steve Scurfield teamed up for men’s doubles gold, and Lisa Conway won the women’s singles gold medal.  

Additional Details
Full individual tournament results are available here. Highlights from the 2026 APP Sacramento Open Benefiting Shriners Children’s will air nationwide on CBS Sports Network in the coming weeks.

The APP Tour returns to action June 11-14 for the 2026 APP Vlasic Classic in Cincinnati hosted on the city's riverfront at Sawyer Point. Player registration and ticket sales are available via  TheAPP.global. The pickleball community can stay in the know by following the APP on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and LinkedIn.

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