Barten Sweeps Quad Titles at Inaugural Cougar Open

American wheelchair tennis veteran Bryan Barten won his first singles title in over a year over the weekend at the Cougar Open on the campus of the University of Houston. 

Barten, the top seed, double-bageled compatriot and No. 2 seed Nick Taylor to win the quad singles title, 6-0, 6-0, capping a dominant week in which he lost just eight games across six sets in three matches at the ITF 3 Series event.

It is the 46-year-old American's first singles win on the ITF UNIQLO World Tennis Tour since September of 2018, though he won five doubles titles on the circuit last year. 

Partnering another American in Greg Hasterok, Barten also won his first doubles title of the season, as the top-seeded duo bested second-seeded Taylor and Japan's Kei Usami in the final, 3-6, 6-1, 10-4.

Elsewhere in the draws, Emmy Kaiser finished as singles and doubles runner-up in the women's open division, while Casey Ratzlaff was a finalist in doubles in the men's open. Kaiser came through an all-American semifinal match against Shelby Baron before losing to Japanese No. 3 seed Saki Takamuro, and teamed with Meirycoll Duval of Brazil to reach her second doubles final of the season. 

Looking for his second doubles title in as many weeks, Ratzlaff partnered Australia's Ben Weekes to the final without the loss of a set, but the pair were beaten there by Japan's Daisuke Arai and Argentina's Augustin Ledesma in a match tiebreak, 1-6, 6-1, 10-6. 

The Cougar Open is the largest wheelchair tennis tournament in Texas and the sixth-largest in the country. The event has been held at the amateur level by the adaptive sports program at the University of Houston for the past five years, but earned status a tour-level, professional event for the first time in 2020.