For Longhorns everywhere: Peyton Stearns, the former Texas standout, clinches the Austin title.
The American, who had fallen in the opening round of her adopted hometown event in each of the previous two years, finally reached a goal she’s pursued since 2023.
Published Mar 01, 2026
Two years after capturing her first WTA singles crown on Rabat’s clay, Peyton Stearns has secured a second title much closer to home.
The ex-Texas star, who started the ATX Open with a first-round defeat in each of the last two seasons, completed a milestone she’d chased since the WTA 250 circuit arrived in 2023. That year, she claimed her first WTA main-draw victory in Austin and reached the quarterfinals as a wild card, less than a year after winning the NCAA Division I national singles championship.
After overcoming a set deficit to defeat Brit Francesca Jones in her opening match, and ending a three-match losing streak at the event, Stearns confessed that she believed
"it would be nice for a Longhorn to win this tournament, finally."
"So hopefully I’m the first," she added.
That hopeful line proved prophetic. Stearns secured three of her five matches during the week in three sets and saved three set points in the opening frame of the title match, a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory over Taylor Townsend. Townsend was reaching her first Tour-level singles final at age 29.
