
Waters advances to final; Jansen v. Brascia to finish Friday morning
PHOENIX, AZ - It was a strange—but exciting—day for women’s singles.
In addition to there being four (!) withdrawals from Round of 32 matches, there were also some notable upsets.
Courtney McIntosh beat No. 5 seed Lauren Stratman in three games, and former top-40 ranked women’s doubles tennis player Kaitlyn Christian made a run to the semifinals, picking up quality wins against Salome Devidze and Brooke Buckner along the way.
ADVERTISEMENT
Anna Leigh Waters still made it to Championship Sunday, but she faced firm resistance from No. 7 seed Lina Padegimaite.
The two faced off at the PPA Masters in early January, with Waters comfortably winning 11-4, 11-3.
But Padegimaite had an inspired performance in their quarterfinal match in Phoenix, rallying to take Game 2, 11-9, to force a deciding game.
Waters found another gear in Game 3, though, booking her spot in the semis 11-8, 9-11, 11-0.
She faced the aforementioned Christian in her final match of the day, ending the No. 22 seed’s impressive run in two games.
For the 17-year-old, singles success comes down to winning the battle between the ears.
“I think the reason I do well in singles is because of my brain,” she shared. “I just try and keep that intact when I play, and today I did that.”
Waters will face the winner of Lea Jansen and Mary Brascia in the finals.
Their match was postponed until Friday morning because of rain and wind after Brascia won Game 1, 11-9.
Related articles

Anna Leigh Waters, Leigh Waters visit pickleball facility in Italy
Roma Pickleball owner Marco Maurizi was thrilled to host them on Monday.
1 day ago
-Matt Cudzinowski

Pickleball pop culture recap for November 2025
It was another busy month in the picklesphere.
1 day ago
-Victoria Radnothy

Waters cruises past Wang for women’s singles title, fourth straight Triple Crown
Make that four straight Triple Crowns for Anna Leigh Waters.
11 days ago
-Will Daughton

Back on top: Johns, Tardio take men’s doubles gold over Alshon, Daescu
Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio got right back to their winning ways this week in Central Florida.
11 days ago
-Will Daughton