The APP Tour showed why it's the most exciting experience in pickleball with five thrilling matches on Championship Sunday at the 2026 APP Detroit Open. Motor City's biggest pickleball fans filled the seats as they watched the world's best professional players battle and grind for gold for a national television audience.

The event's capstone was an exhilarating women's pro doubles final, where Christine Maddox and Shelby Bates staged a comeback for the ages to win the gold. On the men's side, Richard Livornese, Jr. won two gold medals – one in mixed doubles alongside Nicola Schoeman, who earned her first career APP Tour gold medal, and the other with Jack Munro for their fourth-straight men's doubles title. In singles, Ronan Camron secured his first men's singles gold of the season, while Katerina Stewart won her third of the year.

Vibe Credit Union Showplace in Novi, MI played host to hundreds of players, ranging from the sport's elite pros, to the AARP Champions (50+) and Masters (60+) Pro Divisions, to the Humana Cup competition, to amateur players of all ages and skill levels from the Detroit area and beyond.  

On Championship Sunday, the APP Tour pros battled for gold medals on a national stage to crown its champions.

Women’s Pro Doubles

Top seeds Shelby Bates and Christine Maddox and two-seeds Megan Fudge and Kara Wheatley set the stage for an epic women's pro doubles final. Fudge and Wheatley took game one in full force, 11-1, and held a 10-3 advantage in game two. From there, the comeback was on. Bates and Maddox stormed back with nine straight points, including holding off three match points, to take game two 12-10 in dramatic fashion. Bates and Maddox's momentum carried them from there, cruising in game three, 11-1, to bring home the gold.  

In total, Bates and Maddox finished the match on a 20-1 run after facing match point in game two.

When asked what it took to win, Bates replied, “I don’t really have any words. Trust in each other, being willing to grind, diligence, the man upstairs, and just don’t miss a ball.”

“I know Shelby’s a fighter," Maddox added. "I love to have a fighter next to me – I know that I could do my best work when my partner’s right there with me in the fight. I fight for her, she fights for me, and we fight for it. That’s what pulled us through today.”

Amanda Hendry and Nicola Schoeman earned the women’s pro doubles bronze medals.

Women's Pro Singles

Katerina Stewart has been dominant on the women's pro singles circuit thus far in 2026, winning two gold medals and in search of her third. On the other side of the bracket was Stewart's women's pro doubles partner, Bobbi Oshiro. With their partnership put aside for the match, Stewart continued her torrid start to the year - defeating Oshiro 11-0 and 11-7 to claim the gold.

“I’m feeling great, it’s always good to come in here and leave with a medal,” said Stewart. “It’s always fun playing against Bobbi. We have a good idea of how we both play, so it’s just a matter of who could impose their game better.

Amanda Hendry won the women's pro singles bronze medal.

Men's Pro Singles

In a rematch from the APP Vlasic Classic Cincinnati back in June, top-seeded Ronan Camron took on Dusty Boyer in the men's pro singles final. Camron lived up to his top billing as he won game one 11-7, and carried his momentum into a 6-1 lead in game two. Boyer, the men's pro singles champion from that match in Cincinnati, fought back and cut the deficit to 9-8. Camron rallied off the final two points from there, winning 11-8 and exacting revenge on Boyer for the gold in front of a fired-up crowd.

“I’m not from here, but I think I had a little bit of crowd support here today,” said Camron. “I’ve been focused on every match just trying my best and to not give up even if the score is down big.”

Top Hungarian pro Balint Bako won men's pro singles bronze for his first career APP Tour medal.

Mixed Pro Doubles

The mixed pro doubles gold medal match pitted Chicago's bronze medalists, Megan Fudge and Aidan Schenk, against first-time finalist duo Nicola Schoeman and Richard Livornese, Jr. In a competitive game one, Schoeman and Livornese, Jr. took a 7-3 lead prompting a timeout. Following the break, Fudge and Schenk rallied back, but Schoeman and Livornese, Jr. ultimately pulled away for a 12-10 win. From there, Schoeman and Livornese came out firing in game two and never looked back, winning 11-3 and claiming their first mixed pro doubles title as a duo.

“It feels amazing,” Schoeman said following her first career APP Tour gold medal. “Confidence is key. If you come to a tournament and you don’t think you can win, why are you there?”

“The fans make Championship Sunday the best," Livornese, Jr. added. "You guys rock. We feed off the energy.”

Emilia Schmidt and Jack Munro earned the mixed pro doubles bronze medals.

Men's Pro Doubles

Three-time men's pro doubles defending champions Richard Livornese, Jr. and Jack Munro took the court against first-time finalist duo Etienne Blaszkewycz and Callan Dawson. The challengers raced out to a 10-6 lead in game one, only for Livornese, Jr. and Munro to rally off six straight points to steal it, 12-10. Game two was neck-and-neck until Livornese, Jr. and Munro pulled away, 11-7, to clinch their fourth consecutive men's pro doubles gold medals.

“Jack was unbelievable,” Livornese, Jr. said. “We were down 10-6 and he just took over. I did my job and he always does his, so credit to him.”  

“We played against a team we haven’t really seen in terms of strategy, so we had to build off of it,” said Munro.  

Ronan Camron and Drake Palm won the men’s pro doubles bronze medals.

AARP Champions and Masters Pro Action

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The 2026 APP Detroit Open also saw elite competition for the AARP Champions Division (50+). Eugenia Carolina Lopez Ascarate, Marcello Jardim and Karin Ptaszek-Kochis were the big winners, each winning two gold medals. Jaime Oncins and Dayne Gingrich also brought home golden hardware.

In AARP Masters Division (60+) action, Dana Treister secured a Triple Crown with gold medals in men's singles, mixed doubles alongside Anna Shirley, and in men's doubles with Scott Greenberg.

Humana Cup

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The event also hosted the latest round of the Humana Cup competition, the APP’s season-long team event for pros 50 and older. Full results are available here.

Additional Details

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Full individual tournament results are available here. Highlights from the 2026 APP Detroit Open will air nationwide on ESPN2 and CBS Sports Network in the coming weeks.

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