Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed and sixth-ranked player on the WTA Tour, defended her National Bank Open women’s singles title by defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the final on Monday.
Pegula, who is from Buffalo, New York, won last year’s National Bank Open in Montreal and now has a 17-2 record at the Canadian tennis championship. This win is her sixth tournament title.
“I’m thrilled to have the trophy again,” Pegula said. “I really wanted this one. It’s great to back up my performance from last year and get through the week.”
She is the first woman to win the National Bank Open consecutively since Martina Hingis in 2000.
“I’ve always played well here,” the 30-year-old Pegula said. “Toronto is close to Buffalo, so I had many friends and family in the stands. My grandparents and husband were also here. It’s special to have that support.”
Anisimova, who was ranked No. 132 in the world as she made a comeback after a mental health break, defeated three top-20 players in Toronto, including No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.
“I really thought I had it after the second set, but she stepped up her game,” Anisimova said. “She played amazing tennis. It was a very tough match.” Anisimova will be ranked No. 49 on Tuesday.
Monday’s final was only the second time since the WTA 1000 event format began in 2009 that the final featured two Americans. The only other instance was in 2016 when Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in Rome.
Pegula, who has now won all three of her matches against Anisimova, had previously beaten her on clay earlier this season. Pegula had also defeated Liudmila Samsonova in last year’s final.
In Monday’s match, Pegula took an early lead by breaking serve in the first game and was ahead 5-3 when Anisimova double-faulted, giving Pegula the first set.
Anisimova was down 0-40 in the second set but fought back to hold her serve and then broke Pegula’s serve to lead 2-1 after a lengthy rally.
The 22-year-old, who reached the French Open semifinals in the past, then extended her lead to 5-2 with another break when Pegula made a double fault. Anisimova held her serve to win the second set, giving Pegula her first lost set of the tournament.
Monday was the first time since Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati in 2001 that two American women faced each other for Canada’s national championship.
Anisimova mentioned she was uncertain about her return to competitive tennis when she started playing again in January at the Australian Open after an eight-month break.
“I put in the work and kept focused,” she said. “I tried to come back with a more relaxed attitude, enjoying each day without being too serious, because I think that takes away from the enjoyment of the sport.”
In the doubles final on Monday, the American pair of Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk won against Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe with a score of 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-7.
Dabrowski, who won mixed doubles bronze for Canada at the Paris Olympics with Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, had previously won the National Bank Open doubles title in 2021 with former partner Luisa Stefani from Brazil.
