#17 seed Kate Fahey will play #1 seed Anna Leigh Waters for the first time ever on Sunday in the ladies singles final of the Las Vegas Pickleball Cup, after a massive run through the top talent this week in Vegas without dropping a game.

To land a spot on Championship Sunday, Fahey had to take down Dodo Kong, Judit Castillo, Mary Brascia, Lea Jansen, and finally, Lacy Schneemann in the semifinals, dropping 46 points total over five matches.

Throughout her matches, Fahey has impressed fans and players alike with her incredible athleticism, impassive demeanor, and wicked passing shots. She was a standout D1 college tennis player at University of Michigan, where she was a three-time ITA All-American, a two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year, and Michigan's leader in career singles wins (132) and career winning percentage (.815).

Waters has been tremendously dominant in singles, only logging twelve losses total during her singles career on tour, most of those coming when she was still new to professional pickleball. She cruised through Julia Ronney, Jorja Johnson, Lina Padegimaite, and Salome Devidze this week in Vegas, also without losing a game and dropping 37 points total over four matches.

But there’s a new kid on the block.

Fahey only went pro a few months ago, but has quickly established herself as a force on the singles court, as well as more than held her own in all three divisions during her time on the MLP team St. Louis Shock after being a surprise pick in the 2024 draft.

Sunday will mark Fahey’s third Championship Sunday appearance over the six tournaments that she’s played in her career so far. Over the last month, she’s finished with a silver in Kansas City, a gold just last week in Salt Lake City, and now, another final appearance this weekend in Vegas, guaranteeing her another medal. Waters was not entered to compete in either of the past two tournaments that Fahey medaled at.

Both Waters and Fahey have standout athleticism and the skills to go with it, leading many to wonder whether Fahey might be the player to finally challenge Waters on the singles court.

Fahey spoke about facing Waters for the first time on Sunday during her semifinal post-match interview.

“It’s an incredible opportunity, I’m really excited, I’ve never played her before. I have a lot of confidence in my game, I’m just going to stick to it. Hopefully I can get the crowd behind me.”

Can Fahey give Waters a run for her money? Could this be a start to a rivalry between the two? Let us know what you think on X and Instagram.