The streak is over.

No. 3 seeds Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin stunned No. 1 seeds Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns on Sunday, sweeping the defending powerhouse 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 in the mixed doubles final at the Carvana Mesa Cup Presented by Cal-AM.

It marks one of the most decisive victories ever over the Waters/Johns pairing — and a cathartic moment for Bright and Patriquin after letting match point slip away against the same team just weeks ago in Cape Coral.

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Revenge Complete in Mesa

In Cape Coral, Bright and Patriquin had match point before Waters and Johns escaped in five games. This time, there would be no collapse.

“I felt a lot of nerves,” Bright admitted post-match. “Even though it was 10-3, I was so nervous… I basically gave Ben an overhead [with my third shot]. I was literally smiling after the shot, but thankfully, it was better than an error.”

The emotions poured out immediately after championship point, particularly for Patriquin.

“I have my friends here, my family… I’m kind of emotional. Honestly, I’m going to cry,” Patriquin said. “It feels amazing. It’s like the best team.”

For a pair that had lost six straight to Waters and Johns — many in deciding games — the breakthrough was especially sweet.

“No one beats us seven times in a row,” Bright added with a smile.

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Tactical Shift: Patriquin Takes the Middle

The difference in Mesa was unmistakable: Hayden Patriquin.

Patriquin was aggressive from start to finish, getting big in the middle and attacking at full speed. He drove balls directly at Waters’ and Johns’ chests, shrinking their reaction time and preventing them from dictating hands battles.

He also leaned heavily into creative offense from the kitchen line, using drop shots and soft placements into the front court to disrupt rhythm during what would typically be a offensive exchange centered around keeping Waters and Johns at the baseline.

The numbers underscore the dominance:

• 18–3 in clean winners

  • 14 from Patriquin

  • 4 from Bright

That kind of disparity is rare against a team as defensively elite as Waters and Johns.

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Early Drama in Game Two

The first two games were tightly contested, with Waters and Johns starting out Game 2 with a 5-0 lead.

Adding to the intrigue, sunlight filtering through the stadium covering created visibility issues on court, leading Bright to switch out her glasses lens during Game 2 in an effort to adjust.

Early in the second game, Johns hit a ball that contacted paddle, then ground, then carried over the net — and immediately called the fault on himself.

From there, Bright and Patriquin steadied.

“Honestly, I was trying to be a little bit detached,” Bright explained. “I think I wanted it a little too bad in Cape Coral. So I tried to come out and just enjoy playing with Hayden. I was in a great mood this morning - we both were - and just really happy we were able to sustain that high level.”

They did exactly that — and in Game 3, they ran away with it.

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A Rare Finals Loss for Waters and Johns

Coming into the final, Waters and Johns were 59-2 in finals together and were chasing their 60th mixed title as a pair — and Waters’ 62nd career mixed doubles title overall.

They had won 10 gold medals already in the 2025–26 season (Orange County, Bristol, Vegas Indoors, Cincinnati, Virginia Beach, Vegas Outdoors, Worlds, Lakeland, Masters, Cape Coral).

Their only previous finals losses as a team came in:

• Austin 2024 (to Bright/Daescu)

• North Carolina 2025 (to the Johnson siblings)

Notably, Bright is now part of three separate teams to defeat Waters and Johns — Mesa 2025, Austin 2024, and the 2023 PPA Finals (pool play).

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A Breakthrough for the No. 3 Seeds

For Bright, the title adds to a résumé that already includes mixed titles with James Ignatowich, Riley Newman, Andrei Daescu, and Dylan Frazier.

For Patriquin, it marks just his second career mixed doubles gold (his first coming with Jorja Johnson) — and by far the most significant since it included taking down the World No. 1's.

But beyond the hardware, Mesa felt like a psychological turning point.

“I think matches against that team are only going to get better and better,” Bright said. “Just excited for the rest of the season.”

If this performance is any indication, the mixed doubles landscape just got a lot more interesting.