Cayman recently played host to an exciting three days of pickleball, the BLACKwater Team Cup, drawing 16 top international professional players.
The event, spearheaded by Megan Fudge, world No.1 female on the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) tour, culminated in a thrilling display of skill and unexpected upsets.
The professional-amateur tournament kicked off on Friday, 13 June where spectators watched the dynamic duo of Max ‘Purple Jesus’ Manthou and local talent Harry Fenn emerge victorious in the final against Pickleball Cayman’s coach Michael Carse and top local player Mark Rawlins.
Trailing 14-2, Carse and Rawlins mounted a remarkable comeback, scoring eight unanswered points to bring them close at 14-10 before Manthou and Fenn ultimately clinched the 15-point game.
The evening also featured the draft for the main event, where four sponsored teams – BLACKwater, Total Health, Quality Law and Interesting Things – were organised by local captains in a snake draft held at The Roost. Each team consisted of two professional males and females.
Saturday’s team round-robin at Pickleball Cayman saw Total Health dominate the competition, sweeping all three of their matches.
Quality Law finished second, followed by Interesting Things in third, and then BLACKwater.
During Sunday’s playoffs, Total Health continued their winning streak by defeating BLACKwater, while Interesting Things beat Quality Law to secure their spot in the final.
The championship match started with Total Health asserting their dominance with a comfortable win in men’s doubles. They held a 19-16 lead in the women’s doubles (21 points needed to win, with a two-point margin) before Bobbi Oshiro and Susannah Barr of Interesting Things fought back to equalise at one game each.
The momentum shifted further when Andre Mick and Bobbi Oshiro, playing as the first mixed doubles pair for Interesting Things, rallied from behind to defeat Casey Diamond and Sofia Sewing of Total Health.
The final mixed doubles match saw Total Health with a 20-18 lead, needing only one point to take the game and force a tiebreaker fifth match. However, Interesting Things saved each game point, ultimately winning in a 27-25 nail-biter that elicited shouts of excitement from the crowd.
The 3-1 overall victory earned Interesting Things the trophy, marking Total Health’s only defeat of the entire weekend.
Jerry Beck, Cayman Pickleball coach, told the Compass that the professional players thoroughly enjoyed their time on the island, as shown by their enthusiastic social media posts.
The Total Health Cayman Open, set for 4-7 Dec., is the next major local tournament, and Beck says they’re looking forward to welcoming many professionals back for it.
