Jake Bower beat Bálint Bakó 11–2, 11–7 to win the men’s 18+ Open singles title at the European Open on Sunday 8 November, and Jada Bui beat PeiChuan Kao 9–11, 12–10, 14–12 for the women’s. Both finals were played at Ali Bey Club in Manavgat, Türkiye, on the closing day of a tournament that ran from 3 to 8 November.
The two title matches could hardly have looked more different on the scoreboard. Bower’s final finished 22–9 across two games. Bui’s finished 35–33 across three: she lost the opener, then won the next two games 12–10 and 14–12.
Bower’s path, then Bakó
Bower reached the final by beating Mackonner Dy 12–10 in the quarter-final and Mauro García 15–12 in the semi-final. Dy had won Friday’s men’s doubles with Maximilian Wild; that 12–10 was the closest men’s last-eight match on the completed Sunday board. The other three quarter-finals were sharper: Bakó beat Ilia Kukushin 11–1, Wild beat Louis Laville 11–1, and García beat Mateusz Matysik 11–7.
Bakó then beat Wild 15–11 in the semi-final. In the final he managed nine points across two games. Wild took bronze afterwards, recovering past García 11–2, 9–11, 11–6.
Bower had already stood on Friday’s podium. He and Aidan Schenk took men’s doubles bronze behind Wild and Dy. Sunday’s singles gold was a different colour, and his first Open title of the week.
Bui from a game down
Bui beat Emilia Richter 11–2 and Francesca Rumi 15–6. Kao beat María Costantino 11–4 and Caroline Nothnagel 15–7. Both women’s semi-finals ended in a single game to 15.
In the final, Kao took the first game 11–9. Bui then won 12–10 and 14–12, each by two points. Caroline Nothnagel won bronze 11–6, 11–6 against Rumi, having earlier beaten Bernadette Massih 11–5; Rumi’s quarter-final win was 11–6 over Brooke Revuelta.
Kao’s weekend still reads well in the other direction. On Saturday she and Matysik won the 18+ Open mixed doubles. Twenty-four hours later she was singles runner-up.
What the week shows
Bui leaves Manavgat with three Open medals: Friday women’s doubles gold with Megan Fudge, Saturday mixed silver with Wild, and Sunday’s singles title. Wild leaves with three of his own: Friday men’s doubles gold with Dy, Saturday mixed silver with Bui, and Sunday’s singles bronze. Same partners on Saturday; different colours by Sunday night.
The 50+ Open singles titles, contested as separate Sunday categories, went to Marcello Paiva Jardim and Paola Tampieri. Those results belong to the senior draws, not to the 18+ ladder.
For the 18+ Open singles, the roll of honour is straightforward. Bower won the men’s. Bui won the women’s. And the players who filled the rest of the week’s doubles podiums were still on it when the singles finished.
Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine, published by World Pickleball Media Ltd. He follows the global game closely, reporting on news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball…
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