Pegula holds off Anisimova to win second straight National Bank Open title

Jessica Pegula proved once again that when she sets foot on court in Canada, she is nearly impossible to beat.

The No.3-seeded Pegula won her second straight National Bank Open title on Monday evening, although she had to battle past a resurgent Amanda Anisimova in an all-American final, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

Toronto: Scores | Draws | Order of Play 

"Toronto, it's nice, it's so close to Buffalo, I had a lot of friends, family, and my grandparents, my husband was able to come today," said the Buffalo, New York native Pegula. "That's cool, I don't really get that at a lot of tournaments.

"Then to be able to win the tournament as well, and to be able to share that moment with them is really special. I don't know what it is about Canada, but I just seem to do well, so I'll just ... yeah, I'll take it," Pegula added with a laugh.

Pegula needed 1 hour and 27 minutes to get past Anisimova, who had defeated four straight Top 20 players to reach the first WTA 1000 final of her career. Pegula denied her countrywoman a fifth Top 20 win of the week, and won her sixth WTA singles title in the process.

It is also Pegula's third career WTA 1000 title. Along with winning the National Bank Open last year in Montreal, Pegula also won WTA 1000 Guadalajara in 2022.

Canadian expert: The National Bank Open alternates between Toronto and Montreal each year, but Pegula has shown that no matter where the tournament is hosted, she excels. Consider the following superlatives:

• Pegula is the first woman to win back-to-back National Bank Open titles since Martina Hingis won her second straight in 2000. Pegula was already the first woman to reach two straight finals at the event since Simona Halep in 2015 and 2016.
• With her 10th straight match-win at the tournament, Pegula becomes the first woman to register 10 consecutive singles wins at the National Bank Open since Serena Williams won 14 straight matches from 2011 through 2014.
• Having hoisted the trophy at the Montreal site last season, Pegula is now the first American woman to win the title at the Toronto site since Serena Williams in 2013.
• Pegula is 17-2 in main-draw matches at the tournament. She reached the semifinals in her main-draw debut in 2021 and repeated that showing in 2022 before her two title runs. (Pegula's only blemish on her National Bank Open record is a loss in qualifying back in 2013.)

"I know everyone's talking about my record and all this stuff, but it's nice to be able to get through the week and to back it up," Pegula said. "So, just super excited, I mean, an honor, really."

Anisimova rising: Despite the loss, former Top 25 player Anisimova will be rewarded for this week's efforts, where she reached her first WTA singles final in over two years.

Currently ranked No.132, the 22-year-old Anisimova is projected to skyrocket back into the Top 50 in this week's updated rankings. She started the year outside the Top 300 after stepping away from tour for an eight-month hiatus in 2023.

"I put the work in, I kept my head down, and I tried to come back to the sport with more of a relaxed feeling," Anisimova said after the final. "Trying to enjoy each day as it comes and not being so serious about everything, because I think that takes away the joy from a lot of things. I think with that kind of approach to my everyday life, I think that's helped me a lot."

Match moments: Pegula won 16 of 17 service points in the first set (including all 12 of her first-service points) as she swept to the one-set advantage. Pegula edged closer to an even more commanding lead when she had triple break point for a 2-0 lead in the second set.

But Anisimova started to execute her power game more successfully, getting out of that jam with a hold for 1-1. From there, Anisimova began to blast through Pegula’s defenses more consistently, and the unseeded player stormed through the rest of the second set to level proceedings.

But as usual in Canada, Pegula responded perfectly. She repeatedly extended rallies until finding the winning shot, and she collected 16 of the first 18 points in the final set. Anisimova got on the scoreboard at 5-1, but it came too late to halt Pegula’s tournament winning streak.

"The third [set], I was just, like, I just need to pick up my energy here, and I need to come and start off the third and get on her really quickly," Pegula said. "Especially someone that can have such big ball-striking ability and hit winners and kind of boss you around the court, you know, you want a good lead from someone like that in the third."