Cincinnati Was a Show: Stewart & Munro Took It All at the APP Vlasic Classic
CINCINNATI WAS A SHOW: STEWART AND MUNRO TOOK IT ALL AT THE APP VLASIC CLASSIC
Championship Sunday at the 2026 APP Vlasic Classic Cincinnati delivered drama, upsets, and moments that professional pickleball won't forget anytime soon.
Sawyer Point, on the banks of the Ohio River, brought together the best players in the world in front of a crowd that was present from the first point to the last. And on Sunday, they were rewarded with everything the sport can offer: a defending champion, a historic first gold, a massive upset, and a mixed doubles final that went down to the last point of a third game.
KATERINA STEWART: TWO GOLDS IN ONE DAY
She started the day defending her women's singles title. She ended it with two gold medals around her neck.
Facing Domenika Turkovic, the tournament's No. 4 seed, Stewart gave up the first three points of the match. Only those three. From there it was all Stewart. Game one, 11-6. Game two, 11-3. Title defended. Second gold of the 2026 season.
"It's been a difficult tournament with the conditions," Stewart said. "I just told myself I had to give everything, I had to try and get this gold, and I'm happy I came on top with it."
But Stewart wasn't done. Hours later, alongside Riley Bohnert — a Louisville native — she pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year. Defending champions Megan Fudge and Sofia Sewing arrived in women's doubles as the No. 1 seeds and absolute favorites. Bohnert and Stewart were seeded No. 7.
Nobody told the No. 7 seeds.
Game one, 11-3 for the underdogs. Game two, Fudge and Sewing clawed back to lead 8-4 and seemed to have found their footing. Then Bohnert and Stewart scored seven consecutive points. 11-8. First gold together.
"I want to shout out the crowd in Cincinnati, you guys were awesome," Bohnert said. "I also want to shout out my family — they showed up today and it meant the world to me."
DUSTY BOYER: THE GOLD THAT TOOK ITS TIME AND TASTES DIFFERENT
In men's singles, Dusty Boyer finally got the one he had been waiting for.
He had been close before. Too close. But the first gold always escapes until one day it simply can't anymore.
Today it couldn't.
Facing No. 1 seed Ronan Camron, Boyer played the best pickleball of his season. Precise, composed, giving nothing away. 11-5 in game one. 11-4 in game two. First career gold on the APP Tour.
"It feels good to finally get one — I've lost a few close ones now," Boyer said. "It's been a fun week."
MUNRO AND LIVORNESE: BACK TO BACK IN MEN'S DOUBLES
Richard Livornese Jr. and Jack Munro arrived in men's doubles as the No. 1 seeds and left as champions. Again.
Facing Ronan Camron and Drake Palm — first-time finalists — the defending champions gave nothing away. 11-4 in game one. 11-3 in game two. Title defended without breaking a sweat.
"Cincinnati every year has a great crowd, so Jack and I definitely felt the energy," said Livornese Jr. "It was a lot of fun."
THE MIXED DOUBLES FINAL THAT HAD EVERYTHING
If the day needed a closing act worthy of everything that came before it, the mixed doubles final delivered.
Jill Braverman and Jack Munro — the No. 3 seeds — against Sofia Sewing and Casey Diamond, the No. 1 seeds. Three games. Every kind of moment imaginable. And a finish that nobody at Sawyer Point will forget.
Braverman and Munro dominated game one, 11-2. Sewing and Diamond responded in game two, 11-8. In game three, Sewing and Diamond jumped out to a 7-2 lead and the match seemed decided.
It wasn't.
Braverman and Munro stormed back. 9-9. And from there, they closed it out 11-9.
Gold for Munro. His second of the day. First of the year for Braverman.
What pushed them over the top in the decisive moment? Braverman answered with one word: "The fans."
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR BOBBI OSHIRO
Bobbi Oshiro's day deserves its own recognition.
Bronze in women's singles. Bronze in women's doubles. Bronze in mixed doubles. Three finals in one day. Three medals.
She didn't win the gold. But she was in every single fight.
And at the best APP Tour event of the year, that says everything about the level of this player.
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CINCINNATI WAS A SHOW: STEWART AND MUNRO TOOK IT ALL AT THE APP VLASIC CLASSIC
Championship Sunday at the 2026 APP Vlasic Classic Cincinnati delivered drama, upsets, and moments that professional pickleball won't forget anytime soon.
Sawyer Point, on the banks of the Ohio River, brought together the best players in the world in front of a crowd that was present from the first point to the last. And on Sunday, they were rewarded with everything the sport can offer: a defending champion, a historic first gold, a massive upset, and a mixed doubles final that went down to the last point of a third game.
KATERINA STEWART: TWO GOLDS IN ONE DAY
She started the day defending her women's singles title. She ended it with two gold medals around her neck.
Facing Domenika Turkovic, the tournament's No. 4 seed, Stewart gave up the first three points of the match. Only those three. From there it was all Stewart. Game one, 11-6. Game two, 11-3. Title defended. Second gold of the 2026 season.
"It's been a difficult tournament with the conditions," Stewart said. "I just told myself I had to give everything, I had to try and get this gold, and I'm happy I came on top with it."
But Stewart wasn't done. Hours later, alongside Riley Bohnert — a Louisville native — she pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year. Defending champions Megan Fudge and Sofia Sewing arrived in women's doubles as the No. 1 seeds and absolute favorites. Bohnert and Stewart were seeded No. 7.
Nobody told the No. 7 seeds.
Game one, 11-3 for the underdogs. Game two, Fudge and Sewing clawed back to lead 8-4 and seemed to have found their footing. Then Bohnert and Stewart scored seven consecutive points. 11-8. First gold together.
"I want to shout out the crowd in Cincinnati, you guys were awesome," Bohnert said. "I also want to shout out my family — they showed up today and it meant the world to me."
DUSTY BOYER: THE GOLD THAT TOOK ITS TIME AND TASTES DIFFERENT
In men's singles, Dusty Boyer finally got the one he had been waiting for.
He had been close before. Too close. But the first gold always escapes until one day it simply can't anymore.
Today it couldn't.
Facing No. 1 seed Ronan Camron, Boyer played the best pickleball of his season. Precise, composed, giving nothing away. 11-5 in game one. 11-4 in game two. First career gold on the APP Tour.
"It feels good to finally get one — I've lost a few close ones now," Boyer said. "It's been a fun week."
MUNRO AND LIVORNESE: BACK TO BACK IN MEN'S DOUBLES
Richard Livornese Jr. and Jack Munro arrived in men's doubles as the No. 1 seeds and left as champions. Again.
Facing Ronan Camron and Drake Palm — first-time finalists — the defending champions gave nothing away. 11-4 in game one. 11-3 in game two. Title defended without breaking a sweat.
"Cincinnati every year has a great crowd, so Jack and I definitely felt the energy," said Livornese Jr. "It was a lot of fun."
THE MIXED DOUBLES FINAL THAT HAD EVERYTHING
If the day needed a closing act worthy of everything that came before it, the mixed doubles final delivered.
Jill Braverman and Jack Munro — the No. 3 seeds — against Sofia Sewing and Casey Diamond, the No. 1 seeds. Three games. Every kind of moment imaginable. And a finish that nobody at Sawyer Point will forget.
Braverman and Munro dominated game one, 11-2. Sewing and Diamond responded in game two, 11-8. In game three, Sewing and Diamond jumped out to a 7-2 lead and the match seemed decided.
It wasn't.
Braverman and Munro stormed back. 9-9. And from there, they closed it out 11-9.
Gold for Munro. His second of the day. First of the year for Braverman.
What pushed them over the top in the decisive moment? Braverman answered with one word: "The fans."
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR BOBBI OSHIRO
Bobbi Oshiro's day deserves its own recognition.
Bronze in women's singles. Bronze in women's doubles. Bronze in mixed doubles. Three finals in one day. Three medals.
She didn't win the gold. But she was in every single fight.
And at the best APP Tour event of the year, that says everything about the level of this player.
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