Peyton Stearns, a former Texas Longhorns athlete, defeated fellow American Taylor Townsend in the ATX Open final on Sunday to claim her first WTA title of the year. Although the match was won in straight sets, Stearns had to fight hard for the victory, as Townsend gave it her all in her maiden WTA singles final.
After the match, the crowd rallied behind Stearns, who has a longstanding relationship with Austin, Texas, having represented the Longhorns during her collegiate days. Just before her winning speech, the on-court presenter noted Stearns’ earlier wish that a Longhorn would win the title this year and that she had fulfilled it.
“Yeah, from the first match, I said it would be nice for a Longhorn to win this tournament finally. Yeah, it’s kinda nice. I wanna congratulate Taylor. You had an amazing week this week. It’s not over. She’s got doubles after this. Hopefully, y’all can stick around and cheer her on. That would be awesome,” Stearns said.
“I also want to thank Christo for this amazing tournament. I know you’re running around like crazy this week. So, hopefully it’s kind of chill from now on till next year at least 125. Also the Sheffields thanks so much for everything y’all do you guys were coming out and supporting this whole week So you guys are awesome and thank you,” she added.
“Also, thanks to the top sponsors, you know this event wouldn’t be possible without y’all, and thanks to my team over there. It’s a fairly new one, but I would say the third week together isn’t too bad,” Stearns concluded.
Stearns was given a cowboy hat as a token of respect for winning the ATX Open alongside the trophy, 250 ranking points, and $37,390 in prize money. Before Stearns, it was Townsend who addressed the crowd after a glorious run in both singles and doubles in Austin, TX.
Taylor Townsend Voiced Gratitude Towards Her Loved One After Losing the Final to Peyton Stearns in Austin
As is customary for trophy presentations after the tournament, the runner-up speaks before the event champion. After receiving her runner-up trophy, Townsend addressed the crowd inside the center court and expressed immense gratitude to her coaching staff, fans, organizers, and, most importantly, her loved ones.
“Thank you to my family over here. The Texas Townsends, my godmother’s over there. Supercoach AJ, he got me through this week. I just feel really fortunate. I’m really blessed to be standing here, after 15 years on tour, to be accomplishing this feat. I’m gonna continue to build on it. I’m not done,” Townsend said.
Townsend made amends for her loss in the singles final with the doubles title, as she and her partner Storm Hunter defeated Eudice Chong and Liang En-shuo 6-3, 6-4 to win the doubles title in Austin later that day.
Now, both Stearns and Townsend shift their focus to the Indian Wells Open, where the former starts her journey in the main draw, while the latter must go through the qualifiers in hopes of advancing to the main draw and competing with the top seeds in women’s tennis.
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