Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns celebrating their mixed doubles title at the Fasenra Virginia Beach Cup presented by JOOLA.
Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns celebrating their mixed doubles title at the Fasenra Virginia Beach Cup presented by JOOLA. PPA Tour

Waters, Johns overcome Johnsons, rain delays for mixed doubles title

Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns kicked off Carvana Championship Sunday in Virginia Beach with an 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 victory over No. 2 seeds Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson in the mixed doubles final.

The match began two hours later than originally scheduled due to rain, and the stop-and-go downpours continued to play a role throughout the contest, with additional delays coming in the second and third games.

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Those stoppages didn’t deter the top seeds, though, as they cruised to their 54th title together without dropping a game.

 

Johns described some of the challenges of playing in the rainy, windy conditions.

“With these conditions, it was really about making a lot of balls and making the fewest unforced errors you can make,” he said afterwards. “Obviously, that team has great hands and can score a lot of points in a row. They’re strong on both sides of the court—JW has phenomenal hands, Jorja goes right at me sometimes, and it’s pretty tough, so it’s always a good match. The conditions were not ideal for all of us, but I’m glad that we could at least play.”

Weather permitting, all four participants from the mixed doubles final will be back in action later Sunday afternoon.

Waters and Jorja Johnson will face off again in the women’s doubles final, while Johns and JW Johnson will clash for men’s doubles gold.