Here is the headline: at the Veolia Chicago Cup on Sunday, October 11, 2026, No. 4 seed Roscoe Bellamy beat top seed Chris Haworth 11-4, 11-5 to win the men’s singles title. Two games, and Haworth, the No. 1 player in men’s singles, managed a total of nine points. That is the kind of scoreline you circle on the calendar.
I watch a lot of pro singles, and I do not throw the word statement around. This one earned it. Bellamy did not grind out a three-game war of attrition. He took Haworth apart in straight games, on Championship Sunday, in the PPA Tour’s first trip to Chicago (Life Time North Shore in Northbrook, Illinois). Let me walk through what happened, who Bellamy actually is, and why I think this result matters for the rest of the men’s singles season.
The result, plain and simple
Bellamy entered as the No. 4 seed. Haworth was the top seed and the current No. 1 in the men’s World Pickleball Rankings. On paper, this was a clear mismatch in Haworth’s favor. The pre-tournament previews had Haworth winning the whole thing. Instead:
- Men’s singles final: (4) Roscoe Bellamy def. (1) Chris Haworth, 11-4, 11-5
- Margin: Haworth scored just nine points across two games
- Significance: Bellamy’s second career PPA Tour title, and his first of 2026
Bellamy was gracious about it afterward, calling Haworth one of his best friends on tour and saying he got a little lucky and that Chris did not play his best. That is a classy thing to say. It is also worth being honest about what the scoreboard shows: an 11-4, 11-5 result is not a lucky bounce. That is one player dictating.
The context makes it bigger. Haworth was arguably the hottest man in the game coming in. He had won the Veolia Arizona Open in Mesa a few weeks earlier, in late September, for his ninth career PPA Tour title. You can read our full recap of that event in our Veolia Arizona Open 2026 results breakdown. So this was not a cold, out-of-form No. 1 getting caught. This was the best player in men’s singles, fresh off a title, getting beaten decisively by a guy seeded three spots below him.
Who is Roscoe Bellamy?
If you only loosely follow the pro tour, Bellamy might be a new name. He should not be for long. Here is the background, straight from his PPA Tour profile:
- Age: 26
- Height: 6 feet 5 inches, plays right-handed
- Based in: Bell Canyon, California
- Turned pro: 2023
- Background: Former UCLA and professional tennis player who once held the No. 1 national junior tennis ranking
That tennis pedigree is the key to understanding his game. Bellamy was a legitimate high-level tennis player before injuries changed his path. By his own account, he had two hip surgeries at the end of 2022, which made tennis brutal on his body, so he switched to pickleball in early 2023 because it was easier on him physically. At 6 feet 5 inches with a real tennis forehand and serve, he is exactly the kind of athlete singles rewards right now.
His rise has been fast but not out of nowhere. He broke through in 2025 with his first PPA gold in Lakeland, Florida, and reached a singles final in Las Vegas. The Chicago title is his second. For a player barely three years into the sport, that is a steep climb. If you want the broader map of who is who at the top, we keep a running guide of the pro pickleball players to know, and Bellamy has firmly earned his spot on it.
What the upset signals about men’s singles
This is the part I actually care about. One upset is an upset. But I think this one points at something real about where men’s singles is heading.
The field has gotten deep enough that the No. 1 ranking is not a shield. For years, men’s singles had a clear hierarchy, and the top seed usually cruised until the final. That is no longer true. Haworth earned his No. 1 spot and his Arizona title fairly, and he is an excellent player. But a No. 4 seed just beat him without it being close. When your fourth seed can do that to your top seed, the gap between the top five or six men has basically closed. If you track where everyone sits week to week, our world pickleball rankings explainer covers how the WPR points actually move.
Tennis converts are reshaping the singles game. Bellamy is a former top junior and college tennis player. Federico Staksrud, the No. 2 seed in Chicago, came up the same way. The length, the serve, and the baseline weapons these players bring translate directly to singles, where you cannot hide behind a partner. I would not be surprised if the next few singles champions all have serious racquet-sport backgrounds. We dug into one of the best of them in our Staksrud pro spotlight.
The singles blueprint is about pressure, not patience. Watch how Bellamy won: he was the one setting the terms. That matches what works at the rec and tournament level too. Singles is a footwork and shot-placement game, and the player who makes the other person move and hit uncomfortable balls usually wins. If you play singles yourself, our pickleball singles strategy guide breaks down the positioning and shot selection that actually hold up under pressure.
For perspective on just how much the men’s game has opened up, it is worth remembering the era when Ben Johns was simply expected to win almost everything. That was not long ago. Our Ben Johns pro spotlight is a good reminder of what dominance used to look like, and how different today’s wide-open field is.
The bottom line
Roscoe Bellamy did not just win a tournament. He beat the No. 1 player in men’s singles 11-4, 11-5, on the sport’s biggest Sunday, a few weeks after that same opponent had won his own title. That is a genuine breakout moment, and the kind of result that tends to change how the rest of a season plays out. The men behind the top seeds now have real proof that the gap is closeable. I will be watching to see whether Bellamy backs it up at the next stop, because if he does, we are not talking about an upset anymore. We are talking about a new name at the top of the sport.
Worth noting from the same weekend: Anna Leigh Waters completed a triple crown in Chicago, continuing a run of dominance on the women’s side that stands in sharp contrast to the parity breaking out in the men’s draw.
FAQ
Who won the men’s singles title at the 2026 Veolia Chicago Cup?
Roscoe Bellamy, the No. 4 seed, won the men’s singles title, beating top seed Chris Haworth 11-4, 11-5 in the final on October 11, 2026.
What was the score of the Bellamy vs. Haworth final?
Bellamy won in straight games, 11-4, 11-5. Haworth, the No. 1 player in men’s singles, scored a total of nine points across the two games.
Who is Roscoe Bellamy?
He is a 26-year-old pro from Bell Canyon, California, who stands 6 feet 5 inches. He is a former UCLA and professional tennis player who once held the No. 1 national junior tennis ranking, and he switched to pickleball in early 2023 after hip surgeries. Chicago was his second career PPA Tour singles title.
Why was this upset such a big deal?
Haworth was the top seed and the current No. 1 in men’s singles, and he had just won the Veolia Arizona Open a few weeks earlier. For a No. 4 seed to beat the hottest player in the game in straight games signals that the gap at the top of men’s singles has narrowed sharply.
Had Bellamy won a PPA title before?
Yes. He won his first PPA Tour singles gold at the 2025 Lakeland event. The Veolia Chicago Cup was his second career title and his first of 2026.