In one of the best singles matches of the year so far, Hunter Johnson outlasted Connor Garnett to claim the men’s singles crown in Atlanta by an 11-2, 8-11, 11-9 score line.

The No. 20 seed—who picked up wins over Tyson McGuffin, Naveen Beasley, and JW Johnson en route to the final—came out firing and took Game 1 in under ten minutes.

He carried that momentum into the start of the second game and jumped out to a 7-3 lead to get within four points of the win.

But Garnett—the strong competitor that he is—dug deep to claw his way back into the contest. He scored eight of the next nine points to steal Game 2 and even the match.

Garnett continued that run to the point of a 7-0 lead in the deciding game. Just when all hope seemed lost for Johnson, he again found the level that he started the match with.

Carried by heavy passing shots off both the forehand and backhand wings, the former SMU tennis player ended the match on an 11-2 run to pull off the unprecedented comeback.

This is Johnson’s first career PPA title after making it to Championship Sunday for the first time since 2022.

He spoke about the importance of the support system on his bench—which included Parris Todd and Yates Johnson—in his comeback effort.

“It makes it easier for sure,” he shared. “Parris had a tough one today, and Yates is dealing with an injury. Hopefully he recovers quickly so that we can face each other in a final one day.”

One of the notable tactical aspects of the match was Johnson’s decision to stay back on his returns on certain points, which usually isn’t too common in men’s singles.

“That’s a strategy that I’ll switch up every once in a while, depending on who I’m playing,” he explained. “For guys like JW and Connor—who have really good drives—if their serves are on, it makes the returns a little tougher. If I stay back, I feel like I can pass anyone on the fourth shot if they come in, so when my passing shots are on, I tend to trust those a little more.”

This result gives Johnson loads of momentum going into his future events.

“I have the confidence now of knowing that I can beat anyone if it’s my day,” he mentioned. “I’ve just got to keep believing and keep training, and hopefully that will lead to more wins.”

Earlier in the day, Federico Staksrud defeated JW Johnson by a 7-11, 11-4, 11-6 score line in the bronze medal match.