Brooke Buckner celebrates a point.
Brooke Buckner defeated Salome Devidze in two games in their semifinal bout. PPA Tour

Buckner overpowers Devidze to make second straight singles final

BRISTOL, TN - Brooke Buckner booked her spot in her second consecutive singles final with a convincing 11-1, 11-7 victory over No. 4 seed Salome Devidze.

Fresh off a title at last week’s Selkirk Kansas City Open, the former Michigan Wolverine tennis standout has picked up right where she left off in Bristol.

The name of the game in the semifinal was using her heavy, powerful drives to take control of rallies and come into the net to finish points from there.

“Salome’s obviously an extremely good singles player. She’s had a win on the PPA Tour this year, so I was really excited to play well and come away with a win,” she said.

Buckner had some well-known faces in the picklesphere on her bench: Jack Sock, Collin Shick, and Eric Roddy, who all train with her back in Charlotte, NC.

She was quick to credit her North Carolina team.

“They’ve all helped me in their own way, and they also challenge me,” she mentioned. “When I don’t want to come forward, they push me to continually do it because that’s the right thing to do and I trust them.”

The No. 5 seed will face the winner of the match between Kaitlyn Christian and Chao Yi Wang in the final.