
Haworth, Jansen strike gold at inaugural LT Open
Chris Haworth and Lea Jansen will both leave Atlanta with a title and $50,000 after winning the men’s and women’s singles championships at the inaugural LT Open.
Both players had to battle through two matches on Sunday, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that each contest was best three out of five games, instead of the traditional two out of three.
Haworth began his day with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 victory over Donald Young in the semifinals before outlasting top seed Federico Staksrud 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-1 to claim the gold.
This is Haworth’s second singles title in as many weeks after also taking the men’s singles crown last week in Virginia Beach.
“The last couple weeks I feel like I’ve been playing with a lot of confidence,” he said afterwards. “Just believing in myself, trusting my shots, and telling myself to go for it. That’s what I did out here, too.”
On the women’s side, Jansen started with a grueling 11-7, 12-14, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4 win over Salome Devidze before beating her Columbus Sliders teammate Parris Todd 13-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6 to secure the gold.
Todd also went to five games in her semifinal victory over Kaitlyn Christian, so the fitness of both athletes was put to the test in their championship clash.
“Parris is one of the best competitors in the sport. I knew it was going to be a battle. I was very happy she went 5 games just an hour before. I feel like fitness really played to my advantage there,” Jansen mentioned afterwards.
This win gives Jansen her seventh PPA Tour medal of 2025 and her first PPA title since the 2024 Texas Open.
“I’m just really happy,” she said. “I’ve had a couple rough tournaments, so it’s just really nice to kind of find my groove again.”
Both Jansen and Haworth will look to carry the momentum from Sunday’s triumphs across the country to Las Vegas for this week’s Rate Vegas Cup presented by Holland America.
Main draw action starts Tuesday on Pickleballtv.
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