Superstar player Tyson McGuffin has won 86 medals on the PPA Tour. He has held professional titles since before the tour’s inception and has spent the majority of his storied career on the podium.
He is undoubtedly regarded as one of the sport’s icons. However, the 36-year-old’s week at the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships came to an abrupt end on Wednesday in the Round of 32 after he lost in both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles divisions. Before he and Noe Khlif lost a three-game match against DJ Young/Blaine Hovenier, he and Lacy Schneemann lost straight games to Chao Yi Wang/Pablo Tellez.Losses can occur for a variety of causes, such as a player not feeling it that day, being outplayed by better opponents, or a host of other factors. Even yet, it is startling to see someone as talented as McGuffin, who used to be the best in the sport and still regularly makes long runs at most events, drop this low.In actuality, though, these losses are more proof of the PPA Tour’s increasing parity than anything else. On Tuesday, following a fierce battle through the qualifying rounds, Alexander Crum upset Federico Staksrud, the top-seeded player, in the Round of 64, demonstrating that parity in action. No one is safe, regardless of seeding or prior success.At the larger PPA events, such as the one held in the Georgia capital this week, when all of the UPA-signed players are competing, that is particularly true. You will lose every match if you and your partners do not give it your all. You will be alright, McGuffin. He remains and will remain a top-tier contender till the day he hangs up his paddle. On the PPA Tour, however, parity is only growing and will keep growing as the sport develops and new players join the fray.