The second annual Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour Women’s Open presented by The James is in the books.
The event was held at Pickle N Chill, less than 10 miles away from the presenting sponsor, The Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center, “The James”, in Columbus, Ohio.
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) this was the second annual event put on by the APP and The James.
Pro play started on Friday, with Women’s Singles. Saturday saw competition switch up to the Split Age Pro, which is personally one of my favorite events in pickleball, since it isn’t very common to see. On Sunday, the pro women’s doubles bracket played, along with the other two events’ gold medal matches.
Women’s Singles
This one came down to the two favorites - Sofia Sewing had won five gold medals on the APP Tour in singles this year prior to the Women’s Open. Shannon Pretorius was the defending champion in this event from last year, and both made the finals.
Sewing made quick work of Pretorius in the first game, winning in a dominating fashion, 15-4, in a game of rally scoring. In game two, Pretorius seemed to be mounting a comeback and Sewing needed to take a timeout to regain her energy. However, Pretorius took a fall diving for a ball and had to take a medical timeout to receive treatment on her elbow and knee. After that, it was all Sewing, winning 15-8.
This was Sewing’s sixth singles title on the APP Tour this year.
Jessica Warren showed some serious grit, earning the bronze medal after losing in the first round to Elina Geut, 13-15 in the third. She went on to win bronze through the backdraw, with wins over Susannah Barr, a revenge win against Geut 21-5, and a win over Daria Walzcak for bronze.
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Split Age Pro
This competition was FIERCE. Lee Whitwell and Daria Walzcak came out on top, winning gold over Shelby Bates and Cantillon Endara, 11-8, 7-11, 11-1. In nearly every interview after winning, Whitwell would ask Dorian Craft, “Have you seen her forehand?” in a joking manner, giving a lot of the praise to Walzcak for the win. Whitwell is known as one of the best seniors in the world, if not THE BEST senior pro woman.
Whitwell actually triple crowned at this event, winning the split age pro, AARP Champions (50+) women’s doubles with Angela Simon, and AARP Champions women’s singles.
Megan Fudge and Angela Simon were able to win the bronze medal in the split age category.
Women’s Doubles
This was the most competitive gold medal match of the weekend, with a lot of yelling and celebrating to keep the energy high. Jill Braverman and Megan Fudge beat Sofia Sewing and Shelby Bates, 11-4, 2-11, 11-6. This was the fourth time these two have played against each other, and the series is now tied 2-2.
This was a big win for Fudge and Braverman, and they both pointed to execution of the game plan as their key to victory.
Allison Harris and Amanda Hendry claimed bronze in the pro women's doubles division.
The APP Tour is next in action in just two days, as The Fort is hosting the AARP Open this weekend. Qualifying rounds begin Wednesday, with pro singles starting on Thursday. Look for a preview of that event in The Dink’s newsletter on Wednesday.
Photo credit for the header image goes to The APP Tour.
