Brooke Buckner earned an 11-9, 11-0 victory over No. 6 seed Kaitlyn Christian to open up semifinal action in Virginia Beach.

Even though this is Buckner’s fourth consecutive victory over Christian, she says that it’s always a challenge against the former top-40 ranked WTA tennis pro.

“Kaitlyn’s a great player, and it’s always a battle against her,” she noted. “She’s one of the most athletic females out here, so I had to really lock in and stay focused through every point because I knew she was gonna come up with some great stuff.”

The former University of Michigan tennis star has been on a tear recently after winning two singles titles in August.

Buckner will look to carry that momentum into Sunday’s final, where she’ll face Anna Leigh Waters.

In the second women’s singles semifinal, Waters defeated No. 11 seed Kate Fahey by an 11-6, 11-2 score line.

Fahey was coming off impressive wins over Judit Castillo and Lea Jansen in back-to-back rounds, but the top-seeded Waters was able to put her under near constant pressure and comfortably dictate points.

Even though Waters has cemented herself as the clear top women’s singles player in pickleball, she’s still focusing on specific shots she wants to improve.

“I think my serve could still use some work,” she mentioned. “It’s gotten a lot better over the past year, but somebody like Kate can really blast some returns and come in, so you have to make sure that you’re hitting deep serves. That’s something I can definitely improve on.”

The 17-year-old will go for her tenth singles title of 2024 when she and Buckner face off on Sunday.