Dussault Takes Down No. 1 Camron as APP Overland Park Singles Finals Take Shape

For Tristan Dussault, the most impressive part was not simply that he beat the No. 1 seed. It was what happened after he looked so far from doing it.

Ronan Camron had taken the opening game of their men’s singles semi-final 11-2, the sort of scoreline that can make a best-of-three match feel close to settled before it has properly developed. Camron arrived in Overland Park after winning men’s singles at the APP Detroit Open, while the current Global Pickleball Alliance standings have him leading men’s singles with 4,850 points.

Dussault responded by changing the match completely.

The 18-year-old took the second game 11-6 before running away with the decider 11-1, reversing an opening-game deficit to earn his place in Sunday’s gold-medal match at the APP Dillons Overland Park Open.

Across the final two games, Dussault outscored Camron 22-7. More importantly, he found a solution after being comprehensively beaten in the first, turning the most difficult position he had encountered all day into the biggest result of his tournament.

It also provides another marker in a season in which Dussault’s progress has become increasingly difficult to overlook. He turned 18 in August and has already collected significant results across the professional game, including an unbeaten singles and doubles double at the Macon PPA Challenger in July.

World Pickleball Magazine covered Dussault’s two-title Macon weekend here.

Dussault builds towards the upset

Dussault’s tournament had gathered momentum before he stepped on court against Camron.

Seeded fifth, he negotiated the earlier rounds before beating Eduardo Irizarry 11-9, 11-9. The scoreline demanded concentration without forcing Dussault into a deciding game, but his quarter-final against No. 4 seed Ryler DeHeart offered the first indication that his level was rising sharply.

DeHeart managed one point.

Dussault won 11-0, 11-1, moving into the semi-finals with the kind of scoreline that immediately changed the complexion of his day.

Camron presented an entirely different problem. The top seed had survived a three-game examination against Bence Gergő before beating Naveen Beasley 11-5, 11-5 in the quarter-finals, and his wider 2026 record gave Dussault a clear benchmark. Camron won Detroit last month and currently leads the GPA men’s singles standings, with Dussault sitting sixth.

For one game, that difference in status was visible. Camron controlled the opener 11-2 and left Dussault needing to make changes quickly.

The response was emphatic. Dussault steadied himself sufficiently to win the second 11-6, then accelerated through the deciding game. Having managed only two points in the opener, he allowed Camron one in the third.

Removing the top seed was the result that changed the men’s bracket. Sunday’s challenge, however, will be different again.

Wazir has barely given anyone a chance

Ammar Wazir’s route through the opposite half has contained none of Dussault’s jeopardy.

The 23-year-old came into Overland Park as an established APP singles contender. The APP lists Wazir with eight career Tour medals, including four golds, while the current GPA standings place him third in men’s singles behind Camron and Dusty Boyer.

His performances in Kansas have reflected that standing.

Wazir opened by beating Thomas Wraa 11-3, 11-0 before overcoming John Centonze 11-9, 11-6. Richard Livornese Jr. was next, and Wazir raised his level again in an 11-2, 11-4 quarter-final victory.

The semi-final brought Jack Bower, the No. 15 seed, who had already damaged the expected shape of the bottom half. Bower eliminated No. 2 Dusty Boyer in three games, recovering after losing the opener 11-6 to take the next two 12-10, 11-8, before comfortably winning his quarter-final.

Wazir stopped the run.

An 11-5, 11-6 semi-final victory completed four consecutive straight-game wins and sent him into Sunday having taken all eight games he has played in the tournament.

That gives the men’s final its clearest point of tension. Dussault has already demonstrated that he can survive a match moving heavily against him. Wazir has spent singles day ensuring nobody has been able to put him in that position.

One produced the defining comeback of the competition. The other has not yet required one.

A deep men’s field leaves its mark

The finalists were not the only players to disrupt the men’s draw.

Jay Devilliers entered at No. 41 and immediately began working his way upwards, beating Caden DuVally 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 before recovering from a game down to eliminate No. 9 Drake Palm 9-11, 11-5, 11-6. No. 8 Naveen Beasley eventually ended his run 11-2, 14-12.

Ryan Morneau also progressed from deep in the seedings. The No. 39 seed beat Garrett Howard 11-3, 11-3 and then removed No. 10 Jack Foster 12-10, 14-12 before eventually reaching the quarter-finals, where Bower stopped him.

Neither run reached Sunday, but both contributed to a 41-player men’s field that became increasingly difficult to read as the day progressed. By the end of the semi-finals, neither of the top two seeds remained in contention for gold.

Camron and Bower will instead meet for bronze, leaving Dussault and Wazir to decide the championship.

Stewart survives a serious Policare challenge

The women’s draw ultimately produced the final its seedings predicted, although neither finalist arrived there untouched.

Top seed Kat Stewart came into Overland Park carrying strong recent form after winning women’s singles at the APP Detroit Open, her third singles title of the 2026 season. The APP reported that Stewart conceded only 15 points across the entire Detroit singles competition and leads its women’s professionals with five gold medals across disciplines this season.

Her Overland Park quarter-final initially suggested more of the same. Stewart beat Kelsey Laurente 11-4, 11-1, while No. 5 Amanda Policare advanced through the opposite side before defeating Amanda Hendry 11-2, 11-4.

Policare then gave the top seed a considerably more difficult afternoon.

She took the opening game 11-8 and pushed Stewart deep into an extended second game. Stewart escaped it 13-11, turning a match that was moving towards an upset back in her direction, before taking control of the decider 11-2.

The 8-11, 13-11, 11-2 comeback sends Stewart into Sunday’s final with an opportunity to follow her Detroit victory with another APP singles title.

It also means she reaches the gold-medal match having already dealt with genuine pressure. Stewart went from conceding five points in her quarter-final to standing within two points of elimination in the next round, then responded with her strongest game of the match.

Turkovic survives Huynh before settling down

Domenika Turkovic’s path to the final required a recovery of its own.

The Croatian entered Overland Park as the No. 2 seed and an increasingly established figure near the top of the APP women’s field. She won women’s singles at the 2026 English Open in Birmingham and was among the group of international players signed to the APP Tour last month. The APP lists the 26-year-old with seven career Tour medals.

Trang Huynh pushed her close in the quarter-finals, winning the opening game 11-9 before Turkovic responded 11-5. The deciding game remained tight until Turkovic finally secured it 12-10.

Her semi-final against No. 3 Seone Mendez was more controlled.

Mendez had reached the last four with an 11-0, 11-6 quarter-final victory, but Turkovic prevented her from carrying that momentum any further. An 11-9, 11-7 win secured the second place in Sunday’s final.

Stewart against Turkovic therefore gives Overland Park the women’s gold-medal match the seedings suggested before play began, but the route matters. Both players have already lost an opening game and recovered, and both have been forced to find another level with their tournament at risk.

Their history adds another layer. Stewart beat Turkovic 11-6, 11-3 in the APP Cincinnati singles final earlier this season, while Turkovic has subsequently added the English Open singles title to her 2026 record.

Sunday now has its singles storylines

The APP Tour arrived in Overland Park for four days of competition from September 17 to 20, with the tournament forming the first event in a longer-term relationship between the Tour and Visit Overland Park.

Singles day has ensured its inaugural visit already has a result worth remembering.

Stewart against Turkovic is the women’s final the draw anticipated, although both had to recover from difficult positions to get there. Policare and Mendez will meet for bronze.

The men’s competition produced something less predictable. The top two seeds, Camron and Boyer, are both out of the gold-medal picture. Camron will face Bower for bronze, while Dussault and Wazir return on Sunday with the title at stake.

For Wazir, it is another opportunity to turn his established APP singles pedigree into gold after a tournament in which nobody has yet taken a game from him.

For Dussault, the progression is happening quickly. Two months ago, he was winning two titles at the Macon PPA Challenger. In August, he turned 18. Now he has beaten the player sitting at the top of the men’s singles standings and earned a chance to win one of the biggest titles of his young career.

The champions will not be decided until Sunday.

Overland Park already has its first defining performance.