Christopher Haworth secured the men’s singles title and rose to World No. 1, while Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns clinched the mixed doubles crown at the Carvana Championship Sunday of the Greater Zion Cup held at Black Desert Resort in Utah on March 29. The finals, which opened the day’s play, saw dominant performances and a late surge that turned into one of the most gripping finishes on the PPA Tour.
Waters and Johns defeated top-seeded players Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin 11-5, 11-0, 15-13 to claim their 61st mixed doubles title together. The top seeds appeared in complete control early on, producing a remarkable 25-0 run that stretched from 5-5 in the opening game to 8-0 in the third. However, Bright and Patriquin responded with resilience, saving eight championship points to level the score at 13-13 in the deciding game.
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“Nine championship points are a lot. You’d hope to get it in the first few, but it’s better than going to Game 4,” Johns said. “It may have taken a while, but at least we got there.”
Bright reflected on the comeback effort despite the defeat. “That’s the beauty of racquet sports. It’s never over till it’s over. There’s no clock to run out, so Hayden and I just kept telling ourselves to keep fighting,” she said.
In the men’s singles final, Haworth defeated Federico Staksrud 11–9, 11–5 to avenge his loss at the Texas Open and capture his sixth career PPA Tour title. The victory carried added significance as it propelled him to the top of the PPA men’s singles rankings, overtaking Hunter Johnson.
“I feel super blessed to be able to play this sport and play in front of incredible fans. It’s just amazing,” Haworth said. “I came in with not a ton of expectations. I knew I could play at a great level, but everyone out here is really good.”
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The tournament had already seen a major upset earlier, with Hunter Johnson exiting in the round of 32 after a straight-games defeat to JW Johnson, paving the way for a new World No. 1.
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(Written by Evince Das)
