Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher captured their eighth women’s doubles title of 2024 with a dramatic 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7 victory over No. 4 seeds Jackie Kawamoto/Jade Kawamoto.

The top seeds had a chance to close out the match at 10-8 in the fourth game, but the Kawamoto sisters held their nerve and scored four points on their next service possession to push the contest to a decider.

The Kawamotos carried that momentum into the fifth game to the point of a 4-2 lead before Rohrabacher took a brief medical timeout due to illness.

From that point on, though, ‘The Girlies’ regained control and used a 9-2 run to eventually close out one of the matches of the year on the PPA Tour.

“[Jackie and Jade] are so annoying to play. They’re so crafty, and that makes it a huge challenge,” Bright said of the battle. “They don’t play together as much as we do, and then they come out and push us to the very brink.”

One of the key tactical aspects of Sunday’s contest was Bright’s use of offensive lobs. That allowed her to get the Kawamotos off the kitchen line, which put her and Rohrabacher in more advantageous positions in the middle of long rallies.

This is the second straight title for Bright/Rohrabacher after they also took home gold at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships last week in Dallas. Those results should give them plenty of confidence heading into the CIBC PPA Tour Finals in early December.

“I think it just shows the work that we’ve put in over the course of the year,” Bright said. “I’m really proud of us for how strong we’ve finished the regular season.”

Bright will be back in action later Sunday afternoon in the Baird Center when she and Dylan Frazier face off against Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio for the mixed doubles crown.

In the bronze medal match, No. 4 seeds Tyra Black/Allyce Jones defeated No. 7 seeds Mary Brascia/Maggie Brascia by an 11-3, 11-3 score line to achieve their second consecutive podium finish together.