Top seed Anna Leigh Waters emptied the proverbial tank to defeat No. 4 Brooke Buckner 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 on Sunday and earn her 10th women’s singles title of the season.

It's rare to see Waters pushed to the limit in a head-to-head matchup, but Buckner did just that in a three-game battle of wills that finally ended in favor of the 17-year-old phenom, who simply wouldn't be denied.

The victory also clinched the 29th Triple Crown of Waters' remarkable career.

"Brooke played absolutely amazing. She’s a great competitor. She isn’t somebody who I want to play in the last match on Championship Sunday," said Waters, who boasts a 42-3 record in singles finals on the PPA Tour. "I was just fighting my heart out. I think I drank a whole thing of Coke to get some sugar, whatever I could to get my head into it. I was missing easy shots, just because my brain was like turning off. I was looking over at my mom, yelling at her to give me some more energy."

Waters sought that special boost during the 67-minute clash because of general fatigue.

She'd already hoisted the women's doubles and mixed doubles trophies earlier in the day alongside Catherine Parenteau and Ben Johns, respectively, and the effects of playing so much high-octane pickleball were clearly setting in.

"I felt like the first game when I was down [against Brooke], I wasn’t really having any energy. I was like, ‘I’m tired. This is the last thing I want to be doing right now,’ and I was just kind of giving up. I was like, ‘Anna Leigh, that is not who you are at all.’ I was just talking to myself, trying to get fired up," explained Waters. "I was saying some weird stuff that I don’t usually say. I don’t even know what was coming out of my mouth, but hopefully it was all positive. This Triple Crown probably means more to me than a lot, so I’m really proud and happy to be standing here right now."

And with good reason.

The World No. 1 needed to dig extra deep to claim gold this time around, especially while dealing with some health issues.

"I’m fighting like five injuries right now. I'm just happy I wasn’t feeling hurt in this match," said Waters. "I’m struggling, but I’m doing what I love, so I can’t complain too much."