Ben and Collin Johns: Why Pickleball's Top Doubles Team Split
For four seasons, Ben Johns and Collin Johns were the men's doubles team to beat on the PPA Tour. In December 2024 they announced they would stop playing together. The split was a major shake-up for the top of the men's game, and a year later Ben explained more of why. This is a look at what the numbers say, what each outlet reported about the reasons, and what is still unknown. Everything below comes from reporting published in December 2024 and December 2025, and we did not find newer results for either brother in those sources.
The record they leave behind
Pickleball.com counted 33 titles and 43 medals together across four seasons, with a 74% podium rate and a 56% title rate. Pickleball.com said they held the No. 1 men's doubles team spot for most of their time together. Here is the season-by-season breakdown reported by Pickleball.com and The Kitchen:
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Events played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 2022 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
| 2023 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| Total | 33 | 8 | 2 | 58 |
The pattern is easy to read. Gold medals peaked at 12 in 2023, then dropped to 7 in 2024 even though they played more events (20, up from 16). The Kitchen reported they lost more matches in 2024 than in the two previous seasons combined.
What went wrong in 2024
The Dink reported that as of July 2024 they had not won a men's doubles final in five months, and that recent finishes had been fourth, fourth, fourth and fifth place. It also reported that Ben's men's doubles win rate fell from 90% in 2021 to 80% in 2024. Both of those are as reported by The Dink, which cited the figures without a published method, so treat them as approximate.
Pickleball.com's account of 2024 mentioned frustration, less communication and some negative body language between the two. The Kitchen said both brothers showed more emotion after losses. They still won seven gold medals together that year.
Why it ended, in Ben's words
When the split came out, Ben described it as a refresh. He said change-ups in life and in sports can be refreshing, and that it was not necessarily the end of the partnership for good. He also said the decision would help them find new purpose and create variety. Pickleball.com described the split as mutual and amicable.
A year later, on the Pickleballers podcast, he was more direct, according to The Kitchen's December 2025 write-up. He said no professional athlete wants to be losing, and that the situation was unsustainable. He also said some players and skills had been diminished. The Kitchen's own reading, not a quote from Ben, was that he believes modern power paddles hurt his brother's patient, defensive style. Ben added that playing with your brother in a pro sport is an incredible privilege.
That last point is one we can test with simple ideas from the sport. A patient, soft-game style depends on resets and dinks, while newer power paddles reward players who attack earlier and harder. Our guide to power versus control in paddle selection covers that trade-off, and the elongated paddle guide covers the reach and leverage argument. We would not pin the whole split on equipment, and neither did the reporting. It reads as one factor among results, communication and a changing game.
What happened next
The sources are thin on this. At the time of the announcement, neither brother had confirmed a new partner. Pickleball.com and The Dink floated names for Ben, including Gabe Tardio, and The Kitchen said Collin had already signed up to play the PPA Tour Australia Pickleball Open with Jay Devilliers. Those were reports, not announcements, and we did not find confirmed partner lists or 2025 and 2026 results in what we read. We have left them out rather than guess.
For context on what is at stake for a top pro in a season, see our breakdown of pro pickleball pay. A doubles partner change affects prize money, because a top team can win a large share of event payouts.
What it means for the rest of us
- Style fit matters. A partnership built on matching styles can stop working when the game around it shifts.
- Communication shows in the score. Reports of less talking and more frustration in 2024 came alongside the dip in results, which is a good reminder to check in with your own partner after losses.
- Do not wait for a crisis. Ben's phrase about change being refreshing is a sound rule for any recreational team that is stuck.
If you are looking for a paddle that matches your own style, our paddle finder compares power and control profiles side by side.
Watch the matches
Reference clips from official broadcasts and highlight packages, embedded from YouTube.
Sources
- Pickleball.com: The Johns brothers announce split (December 21, 2024)
- The Dink: Source, Ben Johns and Collin Johns end partnership (December 19, 2024)
- The Kitchen: Ben Johns and Collin Johns end doubles partnership (December 20, 2024)
- The Kitchen: Ben Johns discusses split with brother, Collin Johns (December 1, 2025)
- Thumbnail photo: "Ben Johns and Collin Johns" by Mark.E.Johns, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, cut out and outlined for this post.
