For Longhorns everywhere: Peyton Stearns, former University of Texas star, wins Austin title
The American, who lost in the first round of her adopted home tournament in each of the last two years, completed a goal she's wanted since 2023.
Two years after lifting her first WTA singles title on the clay courts of Rabat, Morocco, Peyton Stearns has won her second much closer to home.
The former University of Texas standout, who lost in the first round of the ATX Open, her adopted home tournament in Austin, each of the last two years, completed a goal she's wanted since the WTA 250 hit the calendar in 2023. That year, she won her first WTA main-draw match in Austin, and made the quarterfinals as a wild card less than a year after she lifted the NCAA Division I national singles trophy.
After coming from a set down to beat Brit Francesca Jones at the first hurdle, and snapping her three-match skid at the event, Stearns admitted that she thought "it would be nice for a Longhorn to win this tournament, finally.
"So hopefully I'm the first," she said.
The line in the sand proved prescient. Stearns won three of her five matches over the week in three sets, and saved a trio of set points in the opener of a 7-6(8), 7-5 title-match victory against Taylor Townsend, who was contesting her first tour-level singles final at the age of 29.
The two-time doubles Grand Slam champion also found herself a crowd favorite throughout the week, beginning in the first round where she saved match point against Linda Fruhvirtova and racking up the wins despite having never before been past the quarterfinals of a tour event.
But after erasing a 4-0 first-set deficit in the semifinals against Ashlyn Krueger, she couldn't see an early lead through against Stearns. Townsend had two set points on return at 5-3, and after Stearns rallied to force a tiebreaker, the left-hander left her third chance on the table at 8-7 after erasing Stearns' 6-3 lead.
The match marked the second straight all-American title match in Austin, as Jessica Pegula beat McCartney Kessler to win the 2025 crown, and both home hopes will get a significant ranking boost prior to the Sunshine Double.
Stearns, who came into the event ranked No. 62 after peaking at No. 28 last May, will be back in the Top 50 on Monday, while Townsend will return to the singles Top 100.