How Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio Came Back to Defeat Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin

Main Points:

• Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin had momentum going into Game 5 after winning Game 4 convincingly.
• A series of short returns of serve allowed Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio to easily attack and gain control of points.
• Poor middle coverage communication caused confusion on key shots, leading to unforced errors.
• Stacking mismanagement left wide lanes open, giving the opposing team easy targets.
• Missed returns of serve handed out free points at critical moments.
• Seven out of eleven points lost in Game 5 were directly tied to return and stacking errors.
• Mental frustration and visible negativity on court further eroded team cohesion.

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Summary:
This video breaks down the pivotal moments in Game 5 of the PPA San Clemente Orange County Cup final where Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin lost their lead and ultimately the match to Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio. After a strong showing in Game 4 and taking an early 3-1 lead in the final game, Staksrud and Patriquin seemed poised to win gold. However, a cascade of strategic and executional errors flipped the momentum in favor of their opponents.

The most damaging of these errors came from repeatedly hitting short returns of serve. These weak returns allowed Ben Johns—one of the best offensive players in pickleball—to step in and dominate the point early. Time and again, Hayden was forced to play defensive shots from poor court positions, leading to unforced errors or easy put-aways from the opposing team.

Another major factor was stacking. While the intent behind their stack strategy made sense, the execution often left wide openings down the sideline. In several critical points, Gabe Tardio took advantage of these lanes with aggressive drives, exploiting gaps left during the team’s slow or mistimed unwinding of the stack. These breakdowns made it difficult for Federico and Hayden to regain control of the net.

Finally, missed returns of serve compounded their problems. Two outright missed returns and several fourth-shot errors meant that nearly two-thirds of the points lost in Game 5 were due to mistakes on the return side. Combined with poor communication in the middle and visible signs of frustration, the match slipped away from Staksrud and Patriquin despite a promising start. This video emphasizes the importance of deep, consistent returns, efficient stacking, and maintaining composure under pressure to avoid similar breakdowns in your own pickleball game.

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Tags: Ben Johns | Federico Staksrud | Gabriel Tardio | Hayden Patruquin | In2Pickle | Orange County Cup | PPA Tour