World's number one pickleball player escapes punishment from MLP Culumpus

On May 2, the pair playing for the Carolina Hogs suddenly announced that they would be stopping their MLP Columbus 2025 tournament in the US midway through due to an eye injury. The reason being that the tournament was held indoors, American player Ben Johns could not watch the ball due to poor lighting conditions.

World's number one pickleball player escapes punishment from MLP Culumpus - 1

Ben Johns and Collins Johns only played one game together at MLP Columbus 2025 (Photo: The Pickleball).

Following the surprising decision to leave the tournament by the world's number one pickleball player, the executive director of the United States Pickleball Association (USAPA) Connor Pardoe said that he would consider appropriate disciplinary sanctions against the two players Ben Johns and Collins Johns.

In an official announcement from MLP on the morning of May 8, no penalties were issued to the two Carolina Hogs players. On the contrary, the organizers also determined that Ben Johns and Collin Johns had been granted permission to withdraw from their remaining matches and committed to ensuring lighting conditions for future tournaments.

"After reviewing the issues at the 2025 MLP Columbus event, we can confirm that Ben Johns and Collin Johns have been granted permission to withdraw from the tournament. They have agreed to forfeit their prize money for the four games they did not appear in.

At the same time, we will focus on ensuring lighting standards in future tournaments," MLP's announcement was posted on its homepage.

World's number one pickleball player escapes punishment from MLP Culumpus - 2

Ben Johns and Collin Johns hold a total of 33 men's doubles titles and 43 medals in PPA tournaments (Photo: Getty).

The two Carolina Hogs players had four games left to play at MLP Columbus 2025, so they would not receive a total of $78,000 in bonuses ($60,000 for Ben and $18,000 for Collins) for the remaining four games. Both players later accepted the deal offered by the organizers.

Ben Johns and Collins Johns are currently in the top 10 men's doubles players (Ben Johns top 3, Collins Johns top 9). The last time the two lifted the championship trophy together was in January at the 2025 Veolia North Carolina Open.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/tay-vot-pickleball-so-mot-the-gioi-thoat-an-phat-tu-mlp-culumpus-20250508160301480.htm