Anna Leigh Waters may have started Championship Sunday with a loss in women’s doubles, but she ended it with a hard-earned victory in women’s singles.

The top seed defeated No. 9 seed Kate Fahey by an 11-7, 11-8 score line to secure her second title at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships.

It looked like Fahey would strike first when she earned a 7-3 advantage in Game 1, but Waters scored the final eight points of the game to squash the early upset bid.

Fahey also earned an 8-6 lead in the second game thanks to her overpowering baseline drive and well-placed volleys, but Waters again rallied and reeled off the final five points to secure the victory.

The 17-year-old was quick to acknowledge the growing parity in pickleball.

“I was just happy to be in all three finals,” she said. “The competition is getting so much tougher—I’m playing players like Kate throughout the tournament, so it’s definitely tough to get here.”

Sunday’s final contest was perhaps the most physical of the day; both players were ripping balls from the baseline with incredible power, even after Waters had already played two matches.

“I think there were some moments where we both thought we had hit winners, and then the other player would come back and hit a winner themselves,” Waters noted. “Singles is getting so physical now—it’s really a question of who can last longer on the court.”

On Sunday, that was Waters, as she claimed her 43^rd career singles title on the PPA Tour.

In the bronze medal match, No. 5 seed Salome Devidze took down No. 4 seed Catherine Parenteau by an 11-4, 11-6 score line.