Townsend defeats Stephens in Atlanta Open’s final Sunday Showdown

Taylor Townsend wasn’t supposed to play Sunday night, but when Venus Williams withdrew from the Atlanta Open Sunday Showdown due to injury, Townsend was invited to come back to a place she calls home and fill Williams’ shoes.

They’re big shoes — Williams is a fan favorite at the Showdown due to her larger-than-life personality –  but Townsend filled them and then some with her straight-set win over Sloane Stephens (7-6, 6-3). Her vibrant personality filled the court with laughter and excitement.

“I’m really excited and so blessed to be able to come home and be able to share this experience with my loved ones and family and friends,” Townsend said after the match. “And then do something like this. We don’t get to do this very often.”

Townsend celebrated her trophy from Wimbledon the night before and joked that she was struggling a bit getting on the court Sunday after a fun night. It wasn’t the only way she struggled initially in the match. Exhibitions are less stressful for players and often allow them to have some fun, but Townsend remarked that she found that challenging.

“We know that it’s serious, but at the same time it’s for entertainment,” Townsend said. “It’s kind of hard! At first, I was struggling to calibrate, to not hit too hard, not to hit too soft.”

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Indeed, Stephens dominated much of the first set, winning back-to-back games twice to lead Townsend at various points in the set. But Townsend found her footing and defeated Stephens with powerful serves and a strong backhand slice. Townsend then thoroughly dominated Stephens in the second set, defeating her in nine games.

Townsend was engaged with the crowd, frequently responding to audience shouts. Both argued with the umpire at various points (they both won their arguments). They chirped each other as they served, made silly soft serves to catch their opponents off guard, and even got the ball firl involved in the game. It all added up to a roaring crowd that was always laughing about something and a fun evening despite an hour-long rain delay.

“I wanted to make sure that the crowd felt engaged,” Townsend said. “I wanted to make sure that they felt us and that we’re having a good time and having fun and they can have fun with us. Tennis can be a very prissy sport where you have to be quiet and there’s etiquette and rules. So to be able to break out of that, it’s always nice and it’s fun.”

Townsend’s star is on the rise after her Wimbledon doubles win, and she and Stephens both head up to Washington D.C. shortly to continue on the tennis grind. For now, Townsend is taking in playing somewhere that means so much to her, especially as this is the final Atlanta Open.

“To be able to come out here in such a special environment and to be able to witness professional tennis on this level and it to be so fun and in the presence of a Grand Slam chant and someone that’s honestly just an amazing person and an inspiration and doing amazing things on and off the court — I think that it makes it really special,” Townsend said.

“So I’m very happy to be able to have christened the court and have finished it off in this way. And again, I’m just going to keep saying that I really, really am motivated to try and bring professional tennis back to the city because I think that it’s such a great place with lots of opportunity. So I’m gonna be talking to the mayor.”

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