St. Louis Shock’s DreamBreaker Victory: The St. Louis Shock kicked off their 2025 Major League Pickleball season with a hard-fought DreamBreaker win over the Brooklyn Pickleball Team on Sunday morning. The match took place on Toray Championship Court at the USTA National Campus during MLP Orlando’s final day of action.
Fast Start for St. Louis in Doubles
St. Louis opened strong, winning both gender doubles matches. Anna Bright and Kate Fahey teamed up to win the women’s doubles, while Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio claimed the men’s doubles point. That early lead gave the Shock momentum heading into mixed doubles play.
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Brooklyn Answers in Mixed Doubles
Things changed in the mixed doubles round. St. Louis chose to shake up their usual pairings from last season. Instead of Bright/Patriquin and Fahey/Tardio, they reversed partners.
The new pairings didn’t pay off. Brooklyn’s Jackie Kawamoto and Riley Newman beat Fahey/Patriquin, and Rachel Rohrabacher with Dekel Bar defeated Bright/Tardio. That evened the match and forced a DreamBreaker.
Shock Take Control in DreamBreaker
In the tiebreaker, St. Louis found its rhythm again. Tardio and Patriquin were key players in the win. Tardio outscored Bar 8-3 in three rotations. Patriquin outscored Newman 7-1 in two rotations. Their performances helped St. Louis pull ahead and secure a 21-14 victory.
Bright Faces Former Partner for First Time
The match also marked the first time Anna Bright faced Rachel Rohrabacher since ending their partnership. Bright will team with Anna Leigh Waters on the PPA Tour for the rest of 2025. The emotions of the day were high.
“It wasn’t easy, and I definitely didn’t sleep that well last night. There’s a lot to think about, and we both really want to win. This was also our first match of the season, so we had some extra nerves going in. I’m just really happy that the team was able to carry me in the DreamBreaker.” – (Bright)
What’s Next for Both Teams
Brooklyn ends its Orlando campaign with a 2-3 record through five matches. St. Louis, now 1-0, will face the New Jersey 5s later Sunday in their second match of the season. Both teams will aim to learn from the weekend and build momentum moving forward.
News in Brief: St. Louis Shock’s DreamBreaker Victory
St. Louis Shock beat the Brooklyn Pickleball Team 21-14 in a DreamBreaker to start their 2025 season at MLP Orlando. After splitting doubles matches, Tardio and Patriquin dominated in the tiebreaker. Bright and Rohrabacher faced each other for the first time since ending their partnership. Brooklyn finishes the weekend 2-3.
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