DELRAY BEACH/WASHINGTON, February 23, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
In a tournament that was highlighted by an abundance of American talent, it’s not too much of a surprise that the 34th edition of the Delray Beach Open would be decided by a pair of Americans.
After all, it was also the second straight week that the ATP Tour had produced an all-American singles final in North America, after Ben Shelton defeated Taylor Fritz in the Dallas Open final last week. This time, the ATP 250 outdoor hard-court event on the Florida Atlantic Coast featured the fifth all-American final in tournament history. The winner, 50th-ranked Sebastian Korda, became the ninth different American champion at the event after defeating World No. 24 and fifth seed Tommy Paul, 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 22 minutes at the Delray Beach Tennis Center Sunday afternoon.
A 2021 finalist in Delray Beach, the 25-year-old Korda will move up to No. 40 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Sweet Number 3️⃣
The moment Sebastian Korda secured his 3rd title during a windy afternoon in Delray Beach! pic.twitter.com/vcd3PdQzYz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 22, 2026
“[It means] a lot,” Korda said after winning his third career ATP Tour title and improving to 3-7 in finals. “I’ve been through some stuff the past couple of months, years. I’ve lost a lot of finals and now to get one here in Delray – this is where I made my first ATP final – so, it’s like a full-circle day. I’m just happy.”
Utilizing a baseline strategy to combat blustery conditions, Korda showed plenty of confidence in his ball-striking abilities. He produced 19 winners – including nine aces – and won 83 percent (33 of 40) of his first-serve points. He saved all but one of the six break points he faced and broke Paul’s serve three times in six tries. Korda outpointed his opponent 67-51.
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“It was tricky. We were both struggling out there. It was super windy,” Korda said, after improving his career head-to-head against the 28-year-old Paul to 5-2. “I was just trying to put the ball in the court. I was born and raised in Florida, so I’m used to the wind a little bit. But this was extreme for sure.”
En route to his Delay Beach Open title triumph, Korda prevailed over three of the tournament’s top five seeds, including No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway in the quarterfinals on Friday and No. 3 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the semifinals on Saturday.
Krajicek and Mektic win first doubles title as a team
Second seeds Austin Krajicek of the United States and Nikola Mektic of Croatia won their first ATP Tour title as a team after defeating Benjamin Kittay and Ryan Seggerman of the United States, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 11-9, in one hour and 40 minutes in Sunday’s final.
The 21st-ranked team of Krajicek and Mektic, who saved a championship point at 8-9 in the match tie-break, combined to hit six aces, saved the only break point they faced and outpointed their opponents 75-66.
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“The end was nerve-wracking but a great win for us,” said Mektic, who has now won 33 tour-level doubles titles.
Added Krajicek: “Any time you can string some wins together in a row, it’s a huge boost for us. We’ll lean into that momentum, and we have the tournament in Acapulco, so well try to continue working hard there and put our best game forward.”
