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Fahey wins two golds in one day as first-time champions break through

By Pickleball Skill Levels · November 6, 2026 · 3 min read · Last updated November 6, 2026

Kate Fahey won mixed doubles and singles on the same Sunday, while Elliott Schupp and Jaume Martinez Vich each earned their first career PPA Tour titles.

A mixed doubles rally at the kitchen line

Kate Fahey had the best Sunday of her career. She won two gold medals at the same PPA Tour event for the first time — mixed doubles and women's singles — on a Championship Sunday full of first-time champions, as recapped by pickleball.com.

The comeback of the day

In mixed doubles, first-time partners Fahey and Eric Oncins beat No. 4 seeds Catherine Parenteau and Riley Newman 11-13, 11-4, 11-9 in what the recap called an instant classic. Fahey and Oncins trailed 2-8 in the deciding game, then ended the match on a 9-1 run. The win gives Fahey her first doubles title on the PPA Tour and Oncins his second career mixed doubles title.

In men's doubles, Jaume Martinez Vich and Elliott Schupp — also playing their first tournament together — each earned their first career PPA Tour title, beating No. 3 seeds Noe Khlif and Riley Newman 11-4, 4-11, 11-4. It was Schupp's first finals appearance and Martinez Vich's eleventh.

Fahey's second gold, and Goins' clean run

A ball dropping just over the net tape into the kitchen, close-up

Fahey returned to Humana Championship Court later in the day and beat No. 21 seed Helena Jansen Fink 11-1, 11-9 in the women's singles final. Jansen Fink was playing in her first PPA Tour final after a comeback win over Sofia Sewing in Saturday's semifinals. The double-gold day came at a good time for Fahey, who was set to celebrate her 30th birthday on Monday.

John Lucian Goins closed the weekend by beating Jaume Martinez Vich 11-5, 11-3 in the men's singles final. Goins won gold without dropping a game across his six matches, returning to the top of the podium for his first title since 2025 after semifinal losses in Las Vegas and Chicago the previous two weeks. The tour heads overseas next, to the Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam.

What to watch in your own game

Fahey and Oncins were three points from losing at 2-8 down and won anyway — the run started with steady points, not hero shots. If you play mixed or doubles, our explainer on what a speed-up is shows the shot that so often ends those deciding-game rallies. Want to know where your own game stands? Take the free skill check.

Source: pickleball.com, "Championship Sunday Recap: Fahey takes double gold as Sewing, Schupp, and Martinez Vich earn first career titles." Scores as reported there.

Now find out where YOU stand

Reading about levels is step one. The free skill check scores your six shots and names your level — and your weakest shot — in about two minutes.

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Pickleball words, in plain English

Players throw these words around like everyone knows them. Here is what each one actually means.

Kitchen
The 7-foot zone right at the net. You can stand in it, but you can't hit the ball out of the air while you're there.
Dink
A soft, gentle shot that just clears the net and lands in the kitchen. It forces the other side to hit up, not down.
Third-shot drop
Your team's first shot after the serve and return. Hit it soft so it drops into the kitchen — that lets you walk up to the net.
Reset
When a hard shot comes at you, you block it softly into the kitchen instead of swinging back. It slows the point down and saves you.
Drive
A hard, fast shot hit low over the net. The opposite of a dink.
Pop-up
A ball you hit too high by accident. It hangs in the air, and the other side gets to smash it. Most points at low levels end this way.
Speed up
To suddenly hit the ball hard and fast on purpose, to rush the other side before they're ready.
Volley
Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces.