Royal Oak Open: Unseeded Watts Takes First Title

Kaitlyn Watts secured her first PSA Challenger Tour title at the Royal Oak Open, as she defeated top seed, and World No.98, Emma Millar in the final.

Like all current events on the Challenger Tour, the Royal Oak Open had a restricted entry list, with only those residing in New Zealand being allowed to enter the tournament.

Watts, who made her way inside the top 100 of the World Rankings in 2018, had not featured on the Tour since an appearance at the Australian Open 18 months earlier, but it looked like she had never been away.

The 20-year-old only dropped a single game en route to the final, thanks to straight game wins over Sophie Hodges and Juee Bhide in the early rounds. She the defeated Lana Harrison in four games in the semis, coming from a game down to win 3-1.

It looked like her fairy-tale return to the professional game would come to an end, though, as she was 2-1 behind, and 10-3 down in the fourth game. However, Watts was able to save seven match balls and somehow win that game 12-10.

She wrestled the momentum away from the World No.98, and allowed Millar to score just a single point in the deciding salvo, taking it 11-1 to claim the first title of her career.

Results: Royal Oak Open
Final
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt [1] Emma Millar (NZL) 3-2: 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-1

Semi-Finals
[1] Emma Millar (NZL) bt Rebecca Barnett (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt Lana Harrison (NZL) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3, 11-1, 11-8

Quarter-Finals
[1] Emma Millar (NZL) bt [5] Jena Gregory (NZL) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-5
Rebecca Barnett (NZL) bt [6] Dora Galloway (NZL) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-4
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt Juee Bhide (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-7
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [2] Abbie Palmer (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-2

Round One
[1] Emma Millar (NZL) bt Ashlee Pepper (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-6
[5] Jena Gregory (NZL) bt Luka Unger (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-9
[6] Dora Galloway (NZL) bt Tracey Kimble (NZL) 3-2: 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6
Rebecca Barnett (NZL) bt [4] Ella Lash (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 15-13
Juee Bhide (NZL) bt [3] Katie Templetone (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 15-13, 11-8
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt [8] Sophie Hodges (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-2
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [7] Grace Hymers (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5
[2] Abbie Palmer (NZL) bt Tyler Duberly (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-5