Nicole Bunyan survived a thrilling encounter against Canadian compatriot Danielle Ray to win the FPS Pan American Senior Championship for the first time, while Peru’s Diego Elias defended his title with a convincing victory over Colombia’s Ronald Palomino on finals day in Lima, Peru.

The women’s final, the first to feature two Canadian players, was an entertaining affair in which momentum swung from player to player, with Bunyan and Ray separated by only the finest of margins.

Top seed Bunyan, who like Ray was playing in the final for the first time, made the better start to the championship match as she took the first game 11-6.

The No.2 seed struck back in game two, though, levelling the match with an 11-6 win of her own and then moving into the lead with a hard-fought 11-9 win in game three.

Just as in her quarter-final win over Paraguay’s Lujan Palacios and her semi-final victory over Colombia’s Lucia Bautista, this left Bunyan needing to mount a comeback from a game down if she was to win a maiden Pan Am Championship.

The 30-year-old’s response to the setback was impressive, dominating the fourth game 11-3 before edging through a nerve-shredding fifth game tie break as she clinched the title with a 12-10 victory to end the contest.

The men’s final, meanwhile, was a more straightforward affair for top seed Elias as he overcame tournament surprise package Palomino in straight games, adding to his burgeoning gold medal hall after FPS Pan American Senior Championship wins in 2018 and 2023 as well as Pan American Games wins in 2019 and 2023.

Elias, who earlier this year became the first South American player to be crowned World Champion, had won the Pan Am Championships the last two times he competed, with injury keeping him out of the 2022 edition after victories in Georgetown 2018 and Cartagena in 2023.

Roared on by the home crowd the 27-year-old never looked in danger of letting his title defence slip as he kept the unseeded Palomino – who upset [5/8] seed Diego Gobbi in the second round, No.2 seed and former champion Leandro Romiglio in the quarter-final, and [5/8] seed Salah Eltorgman in the semi-final – at arm’s length throughout, recording an impressive 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 win in 24 minutes.

Result: 2024 Pan American Senior Championship Women’s Final
[1] Nicole Bunyan (CAN) bt [2] Danielle Ray (CAN) 3-2: 11-6, 6-11, 9-11, 11-3, 12-10 (39m)

Result: 2024 Pan American Senior Championship Men’s Final
[1] Diego Elias (PER) bt Ronald Palomino (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (24m)

Attention now turns to the doubles events, which are underway in Lima and conclude on 8 August.

Click here to view all the results from the 2024 Pan American Senior Championships.

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