Kaitlyn Christian emerged from one of the best women’s singles matches of the 2025 season with a 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory over top-seeded Kate Fahey to claim women’s singles gold in Las Vegas.

After players split the first two games by identical score lines, Christian jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the decider.

Just when her triumph seemed imminent, though, Fahey reeled off five in a row to bring it to 9-9.

From there, Christian got the serve back and closed out the contest to capture her third title of the 2025 season.

Christian spoke about the challenge of closing out an opponent like Fahey in the final game.

“Playing Kate, I knew it was gonna be a war out there. She is such a tough competitor, and even at the end when I was up 9-4, I knew it wasn’t over,” she noted. “I just had to put my head down, go to work for every single point, and try not to give up any free ones.”

One of the key tactics for both players—but especially Christian—was the use of drop volleys. The former tennis pro discussed how that shot has helped her as she has transitioned from tennis to pickleball.

“That’s how I made a lot of money on the tennis court, so it’s definitely my favorite shot,” she said of the drop volley. “I had great touch in tennis, and the transition of that was pretty seamless to the pickleball court. It helps me a lot out here, especially in singles.”

In the bronze medal match, No. 3 seed Brooke Buckner defeated No. 17 seed Layne Sleeth by a 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 score line for her second consecutive podium finish.