Minto US Open Pickleball: Anna Leigh Waters repeats as women's doubles champ; other winners
Thousands flocked to Naples once again for the US Open Pickleball Championships, where a handful of newcomers made their respective marks with gold and silver medals.
Here are the results from the five championship matches on championship Saturday at the East Naples Community Park for the ninth edition of the US Open Pickleball Championships.
Men's Pro Doubles
Jack Munro and Len Yang def. Ryler DeHeart and Richard Livornese: A close 14-12 game in the first set proved to be just enough for Munro and Yang, both 21-year-old prodigies who are on the come up in the pickleball world. The two notched an 11-5 win in the second set to end the match.
It was far less anticlimactic than their semifinal contest against Armaan Bhatia and Harsh Mehta, who took the duo to three sets in an 11-6, 7-11, 12-10 game on Friday.
Yang, who has only been on the circuit for two years, lauded Munro for getting him into the game and the opportunity.
"I have to thank Jack a lot," Yang said. "I just moved to Austin in February. Jack took a chance on me in this tournament. I owe him a lot."
Despite the loss from DeHeart and Livornese, the two managed to rally down 9-3 in the first set, forcing the game to go past 11 points.
"We tried to calm down, stay a little more in the game, and it always helps when your partner's eyes are unreal," Livornese said, referring to DeHeart's vision. "… I really enjoyed being here."
Women's Pro Doubles
Anna Leigh Waters and Leigh Waters def. Jillian Braverman and Megan Fudge: Despite falling short with tennis legend Andre Agassi in the second round of action in mixed doubles, Anna Leigh Waters wouldn't be denied of winning women's pro doubles with her mother, Leigh, by her side.
The mother-daughter duo cruised against Jillian Braverman and Fudge, securing back-to-back titles in women's pro doubles.
Waters, the 18-year-old who is still No. 1 in the world, set the tone early with her mother and put the pressure on Braverman and Fudge. An 11-0 win set the tone early, as both Anna Leigh and Leigh stayed hot. An 11-4 second set ended the match in just under 29 minutes after a valiant effort from the second-place finishers.
Mixed Pro Doubles
Jack Munro and Megan Fudge def. Riley Bohnery and Richard Livornese: Munro and Fudge each managed to cap off the night with another gold medal, as the pair defeated Riley Bohnery and Richard Livornese
"I'm just here for the ride," Munro said, referring to Fudge's solid play. "I'm just serving and returning and she's doing everything else… This was one of the best crowds all week."
Women's Pro Singles
Megan Fudge def. Bobbi Oshiro: All coming down to capitalization off mistakes, Fudge made things look somewhat easy against Bobbi Oshiro early, winning 11-4 and 11-7 after a handful of unforced errors ultimately cost Oshiro the match.
Fudge kept Oshiro on the run more often than not, which included a pair of lengthy rallies. Oshiro fought some of them off, but Fudge's precision was ultimately too much in the blistering heat.
"I just feel like I'm playing chess out there," Fudge said in a post-match interview. "Thank you to my team, my coach for giving me notes every morning on how I'm going to attack this day. Definitely credit to him in a singles game that allowed me to stay calm and execute his gameplan."
Men's Pro Singles
Chris Hayworth def. Grayson Goldin: Over the course of the match, it was clear who the more superior and complete player was. Hayworth secured his first gold at the US Open in an 11-3, 11-6 sweep of Goldin.
Hayworth often capitalized on facets of the game where Goldin lacked, moving him side to side and capitalizing on mistakes at the net. Hayworth played a far different match than last year, where he lost to Jack Foster for the title.
"Unfortunately, last year, the finals was probably one of my worst matches all year," Hayworth said. "I was not gonna come out here and play a bad match. I wanted to put on a show for you guys. It was a great match.
It wasn't the first match between the two sides this year, as they've both met at least six times this season thus far. The two also serve as doubles partners, with plenty of familiarity throughout the contest.
"We warmed up together this morning," Hayworth said. "We definitely know each other's games and it can always go either way."
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Minto US Open Pickleball: Anna Leigh Waters, Chris Hayworth, Megan Fudge win
