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Alshon and Daescu take down Johns and Tardio to reach the Worlds men's doubles final

A men's doubles rally at the kitchen line on a sunny outdoor court

By Pickleball Skill Levels · November 8, 2026 · 3 min read · Last updated November 8, 2026

Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu beat top team Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio 11-9, 11-6, while Tama Shimabukuro and JW Johnson swept their semifinal at Worlds.

At a glance

Published · November 8, 2026

Read time · 3 min

The biggest result of Semifinal Saturday at the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships came in men's doubles, where the top team in the draw went out in straight games.

The favorites fall in two

Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu beat Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio 11-9, 11-6. The first game was tight all the way, but Alshon and Daescu closed it, then pulled away in the second to book their place in Sunday's final. It continues a loud week for the pair: in the quarterfinals they beat Will Mackinnon and Hunter Johnson 11-9, 11-3, and in the round of 16 they crushed Pablo Tellez and Roscoe Bellamy 11-4, 11-1.

Johns and Tardio had looked strong themselves a round earlier, beating Connor Garnett and Dylan Frazier 11-7, 13-11 in the quarters. Instead of a title, they now play the bronze match on Sunday against CJ Klinger and Eric Oncins.

Shimabukuro and Johnson have not dropped a game

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

Waiting in the final are Tama Shimabukuro and JW Johnson, who beat Klinger and Oncins 11-4, 11-6 in the other semifinal. Remarkably, Shimabukuro and Johnson have won every match this week in straight games: 11-5, 11-3 over Tyler Loong and Darrian Young, 11-5, 11-6 over Matt Wright and John Lucian Goins, and 11-5, 11-5 over Riley Newman and Noe Khlif in the quarterfinals before Saturday's semifinal sweep.

Klinger and Oncins had earned their semifinal spot with one of Friday's best wins, beating defending champions Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin 11-8, 11-4 in the quarterfinals. That result cleared the draw's bottom half, and Shimabukuro and Johnson took full advantage.

So Sunday's men's doubles final is set: Alshon and Daescu, the pair that knocked out the favorites, against Shimabukuro and Johnson, the pair that has not lost a game all week. One of those storylines ends with a world title. Doubles at this level is won on quick hands and smart positioning at the kitchen line — if you want to sharpen yours, start with the free skill check to see which parts of your game need work first.

Source: ThePickleHub, "PPA World Championships Results 2026" (updated Nov. 8, 2026), publishing the official PPA scores feed for the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships, Nov. 2–8, 2026, at Brookhaven Country Club, Farmers Branch, Texas. Men's doubles scores as listed there.

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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.