Peyton Stearns had very kind words for Taylor Townsend after she won their ATX Open final in Austin.
Stearns met Townsend in an all-American battle in Texas, where the fourth seed emerged victorious via a 7-6(10-8), 7-5 scoreline.
It was an extra special win for champion Stearns for many reasons, namely because she is a University of Texas alumna.
The success also represents her first on home soil, but the champion was quick to congratulate the runner-up shortly after the win.
Peyton Stearns congratulates Taylor Townsend on ATX Open run
Stearns said in her winning speech on court: “Yeah, from the first match I said it would be nice for a Longhorn to finally win this tournament. Yeah, it’s kind of nice.
“I want to congratulate Taylor. You had an amazing week this week.
“It’s not over. She’s got doubles after this.
“Hopefully you all can stick around and cheer her on. That would be awesome.”
Realizing she forgot to issue a similar statement, Townsend interrupted Stearns to say: “I didn’t thank Peyton, so thank you.
“You played great. Congratulations.”
The duo then shared a warm embrace on court.
Taylor Townsend clinches 12th WTA doubles title in Austin
As Stearns mentioned, Townsend had an immediate chance at redemption in the ATX Open doubles, which she took.
She was playing in the format alongside Australian Storm Hunter, with the pair winning their final 6-3, 6-4 against Eudice Chong and Liang En-shuo.
Townsend can be hugely proud of her efforts in Austin, both on the singles courts and doubles courts.
She is undoubtedly known for her exploits in the latter, with Townsend last summer soaring to number one in the WTA doubles rankings.
She’s now a 12-time champion in the format, having just lost her very first singles final.
Townsend has little time to reflect on the run, with the American quickly moving on to Indian Wells qualifying.
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