Kat Stewart hitting a pickleball backhand.
Kat Stewart will take on Catherine Parenteau on Sunday for the women's singles title in Daytona Beach. PPA Tour

Stewart surges past Dunlap to make first career PPA final

Kat Stewart advanced to her first career final on the PPA Tour with an 11-6, 11-8 victory over No. 18 seed Isabella Dunlap.

It looked like Dunlap might force a third game when she got up 6-1 in Game 2, but Stewart went on to score ten of the match’s final 12 points to secure the win.

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The No. 40 seed hadn’t played a PPA Tour event since March and started this week in the qualifying rounds, but she has certainly proven herself with Saturday’s triumph, which came on the heels of her quarterfinal win over top seed Kaitlyn Christian.

“This is a dream run for me. I’m super happy with the level I’ve been playing at, and it just shows that all the hard work I’ve been putting in is coming to fruition,” she said afterwards. “I’m from Miami, so it was a short four-hour drive, and I just wanted to get some reps against the best.”

Stewart will face No. 3 seed Catherine Parenteau in Sunday’s final.

“I’m super excited to play Catherine. I’ve been watching her since I started playing pickleball, so it’s just gonna be a great experience for me,” she mentioned.

Dunlap will take on No. 2 seed Lea Jansen for bronze.