Two years after her first WTA singles title in Rabat, Peyton Stearns collected a second trophy much closer to home by winning the ATX Open. The former University of Texas standout had lost in the first round of her adopted home event in each of the last two years, but completed a goal she has pursued since the WTA 250 was added to the calendar in 2023.

In 2023 she won her first WTA main-draw match in Austin and reached the quarterfinals as a wild card less than a year after lifting the NCAA Division I national singles trophy. This week she snapped a three-match skid at the tournament by coming from a set down to beat Brit Francesca Jones in round one.

After that match 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.

Stearns won three of her five matches in three sets. In the final she saved a trio of set points in the opening set before closing out a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory over Taylor Townsend. Townsend was contesting her first tour-level singles final at the age of 29.

Townsend had earlier erased a 4-0 first-set deficit in the semifinals against Ashlyn Krueger. In the title match Townsend held 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.

Stearns also survived tight early tests during the week, including saving match point in the first round against Linda Fruhvirtova as she accumulated wins despite not having advanced past a tour-level quarterfinal before this week. The final was the second straight all-American title match in Austin, following Jessica Pegula’s win over McCartney Kessler for the 2025 crown. Both home contenders will see meaningful ranking gains ahead of the Sunshine Double.

Taylor Townsend completed a rare feat at the ATX Open on Saturday, advancing to her first WTA singles final and, later the same day, reaching the doubles final alongside Storm Hunter. The 29-year-old, long-established as a doubles specialist, added another day to a season that has highlighted her versatility.

Townsend’s doubles résumé includes two Grand Slam titles, 2024 Wimbledon and 2025 Australian Open, and she reached WTA doubles world No. 1 last year. Still, a singles breakthrough had eluded her until Austin.

In a career-first WTA singles semifinal, Townsend beat Ashlyn Krueger 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Center Court. She recovered from a 0-4 deficit in the opening set and closed out the victory in one hour and 49 minutes.

“I’m creating a legacy for myself, and I’m doing it my way,” Townsend said in her on-court interview, after being asked to reflect on well-documented career ups and downs.

“You know, honestly, everyone that’s talked sh-t they gotta eat their words!

“I’m still standing, I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere. And it’s only just going to keep getting better from here, so I hope that they buckle up.”

A few hours after her singles win, Townsend and Hunter, the No. 1 seeds, defeated Cathy McNally and Kimberly Birrell 7-5, 6-4 to book their place in the doubles final. Townsend and Hunter will face No. 3 seeds Eudice Chong and Liang En-Shuo for the doubles title.

Her opponent in the singles final is No. 4 seed Peyton Stearns. The 24-year-old from Cincinnati, ranked No. 62, has strong Austin ties after playing college tennis at the University of Texas. Stearns was a three-time All-American and helped the Longhorns win back-to-back NCAA team titles.

Stearns advanced to the singles final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 semifinal victory over Kimberly Birrell. All week she has been publicly supported by actor and Texas graduate Matthew McConaughey, including behind-the-scenes moments and selfies while holding up the Hook ’em Horns sign.

Townsend will compete on Sunday for both the tournament singles title and the doubles crown.

Taylor Townsend reached a milestone in Austin, advancing to the first WTA singles semifinal of her career after a determined three-set comeback. Facing Rebeka Masarova in the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 hard-court event, Townsend recovered from a 5-7 first set to prevail 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

The match began with Townsend racing to a 5-2 lead, only for Masarova, the 6’1″ Swiss, to reel off five games and claim the opening set. Townsend regrouped and did not lose serve again over the remainder of the encounter. She fought off all five break points she faced across the second and third sets and broke Masarova twice in each of those sets to turn the match in her favor. The contest lasted two hours and 20 minutes.

After the win, Townsend embraced her four-year-old son, Adyn, who had been watching from the stands.

Townsend’s singles breakthrough comes after two prior WTA quarterfinal appearances, both ending in tight two-set losses: Toronto in 2024 to Emma Navarro and Washington D.C. in 2025 to Leylah Fernandez. Those results had left the American searching for a deeper run; in Austin she delivered the first tour-level semifinal of her singles career.

Her doubles record remains extensive. Townsend has 11 career WTA doubles titles, including two Grand Slam victories at Wimbledon in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025. She also claimed two WTA 1000 doubles titles, Cincinnati in 2023 and Dubai in 2025. Last summer she rose to No. 1 in the WTA doubles rankings, becoming the first mom to reach the top spot in WTA doubles history.

Across her doubles career Townsend has reached the semifinal stage or better 31 times at tour-level events: 11 titles, eight additional finals and 12 further semifinals. That total includes reaching the doubles semifinals in Austin this week alongside Storm Hunter.

Now, in addition to that doubles pedigree, Townsend has added a new achievement — her first tour-level singles semifinal — a clear personal landmark in 2026.