Ben Johns

Ben Johns is the most decorated player in pro pickleball history. As of April 2026 he holds PPA Tour world #1 rankings in men's doubles and mixed doubles — but no longer in singles, where his ranking has slipped to #13 after a peak that lasted years. The doubles and mixed dominance has held.

Career

Johns turned pro in 2016 at age 17 after starting in tennis as a junior in Maryland. He broke through at the 2019 Tournament of Champions, where he became the first male player to win a Triple Crown at a major event. He repeated Triple Crowns at the US Open in 2021 and 2022, and his 108-match singles winning streak in 2019 remains a benchmark nobody has matched.

His older brother Collin Johns has been his most frequent men's doubles partner. The brothers' partnership has accounted for the majority of Ben's doubles slams. In mixed, he has paired primarily with Anna Leigh Waters; that pairing has been the most dominant mixed team in the sport.

Playing style

Johns is right-handed and plays with a one-handed backhand — unusual among top pros, most of whom have switched to two-handed for the kitchen-line speed game. He compensates with positioning and a soft kitchen-line reset game built on patience. The explosive third-shot drive that won him singles slams in 2019–2021 still works in doubles, where partner coverage hides his backhand-side vulnerability.

His paddle of choice is the JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16 — his signature line, and the most widely-played paddle in the rec scene.

Notable wins

• 2019: First male player to win a Triple Crown at a major (Tournament of Champions)
• 2019: 108-match singles winning streak; 22 consecutive undefeated tournaments in mixed doubles
• 2021–2022: Triple Crowns at the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships
• Over 80 PPA Tour titles total, including 15 Triple Crowns

Off-court

Johns graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in materials science and engineering. He has been outspoken about paddle technology and pickleball's professionalization, and is a frequent commentator on the sport's commercial trajectory.