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Pickleball

Patriquin & Staksrud Ride the Wind Past Johns & Tardio

Men's doubles semifinal from the Jenius Bank Pickleball World Championships — the No. 3 seed of Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud knocks out top seed Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio in straight games, in gusting wind that turned reading the air into a weapon.

Creator: PPA TourRuntime: 30 minVideo published: November 9, 2025467.7K views when summarized
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TL;DR

The match in five

  1. No. 3 Patriquin/Staksrud beat No. 1 Johns/Tardio in straight games to reach the final.
  2. Patriquin/Staksrud had recently switched sides on the court — Patriquin to the left, Staksrud to the right — and the fix held up under pressure.
  3. Wind built through the match (gusts up to ~14 mph) and Staksrud started using it on purpose, throwing balls into corners he knew would drop in.
  4. Game one went 11-8; Patriquin/Staksrud closed game two 11-1 to finish the sweep.
  5. It was the squad's sixth straight win as a pairing; Patriquin was the defending champ here with Riley Newman.

01 · The matchup

Top seed against a team that just rebuilt itself

Men's doubles semifinal at the Jenius Bank Pickleball World Championships. No. 1 Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio across the net from No. 3 Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud — and there's miscommunication on the very first rally, both fellas leaving a ball in the left.

Patriquin and Staksrud at the net before the first point, under the Carvana PPA Tour and Jenius Bank boards.00:00:42

Patriquin and Staksrud came in as a team that had recently changed locations on the court — and it's working. They barely snuck by Martinez Vic and Trunk 12-10, 12-10 in the round of 16, then handled the quarters five and two.

Worth knowingPatriquin is the defending champion here — he won this title last year with Riley Newman. He's back chasing it with a new partner.

02 · The chess

Why the men's firefights look different

A real tactical aside between points: why do the longer firefights show up more with the women than the men?

All four at the kitchen line — the position where the hands battles get decided.00:05:46
I think it's the ability of the fellas to really punch from the chest with the backhand — and just a hint of extra power. And they're tighter to the line.— Color commentary
The counter-takeThe booth pushes back: the bigger factor is that the men hold the line harder. The women set up a couple feet off the kitchen, which buys time for more rat-a-tat exchanges.

03 · The conditions

Wind enters the match

Through game one the air starts moving. "For the first time in five hours, I'm feeling wind in my face up here." Balls that used to sit are now drifting.

Farmers Branch, TX: 69 degrees, wind 7 mph, gusts already 14 — and climbing as a front comes in.00:10:24

Staksrud is leaning on a forehand dink slice off the bounce almost exclusively, and it's pulling errors out of Tardio. Patriquin, meanwhile, is covering the kitchen line so well that everything funnels to him to do his thing on both wings.

I am so jealous of that man's footwork. I think every player on tour is.— Color commentary

04 · Game two

Down a game, conditions shifting

Game one goes to Patriquin and Staksrud, 11-8. Johns and Tardio had dropped game one to a different pairing the day before and battled back, so the template exists — but the wind is now firmly in Patriquin and Staksrud's plan, not their face.

End of game one: Patriquin/Staksrud 11, Johns/Tardio 8. No. 1 seed has to chase from behind again.00:14:26
The readThe concern for Johns/Tardio: with Patriquin parked in front of him, not much offense is going to come off Tardio's paddle from the kitchen — and Gabe doesn't have it in him to play passive.

05 · The pull-away

Staksrud on top of every counter

Game two gets lopsided fast. Staksrud is on top of these counters — the whole key is getting the ball down, and he's done it the entire match, including five or six backhand counters that look like he's almost falling down.

Mid-firefight at the line in game two, where Patriquin/Staksrud kept winning the exchanges.00:21:53
It doesn't look perfectly athletic, but it's perfectly amazing.— Color commentary

The Ernie fakes pile up — Staksrud throwing 15 or 20 looks before Johns finally gives him the one. Johns and Tardio start gifting points back with overhits into the wind.

06 · Riding the win

Closing it out to Sunday

The clincher is a wind read. Staksrud just throws a ball into the corner, knowing it'll land — "as smart a shot as you will ever see" — then smacks one through the middle.

Match point — the final exchange that sends Patriquin and Staksrud to Sunday.00:29:51
And they've done it. They are riding the win to Sunday. Patriquin and Staksrud knock out the sixth-win-in-a-row squad.— Play-by-play
Final

Patriquin/Staksrud over Johns/Tardio in straight games (11-8, then a runaway 11-1)

Streak

Sixth straight win as a pairing

Next

On to the final