By DONOVAN GRUBAUGH
PWBA Communications
PARMA HEIGHTS – Twenty-four players began their journey to the final title of the 2026 Professional Women’s Bowling Association National Tour season Sunday at Yorktown Lanes as the 2026 PWBA Tour Championship began with the first eight of 24 games of round-robin match play.
Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova, now living in Fort Worth, Texas, won six games while averaging over 231, putting herself in the early lead with 2,044 total pinfall when adding her 30 bonus pins for each win after going 6-1-1.
“I just kind of leave it behind and move forward one step at a time,” the 35-year-old right-hand said, referring to her approach after a tough loss in the semifinals of the PWBA Pepsi Open on Saturday to eventual champion Alexis Runk. “I tell myself under my breath before every single shot, ‘One good shot at a time.’ ”
Zavjalova also credited her ability to adjust to the tricky 45-foot oil condition laid out for the event, noting that her original game plan changed quickly during practice.
“My game plan actually was to do something completely different and play the gutter,” Zavjalova said. “But six minutes into practice, I saw that it wasn’t as playable, so I moved left. I was very open-minded, and I saw I had a very good ball reaction.”
Behind Zavjalova is Singapore’s New Hui Fen with 1,964 in her hope of earning a second straight Player of the Year honor. She is followed by Lauren Russo (1,901) and Runk 1,890). Stow right-hander Jillian Martin standings (6-2) and Singapore’s Shayna Ng, who won the opening event of Tour Championship Week in the Cleveland Open, are tied for fifth with 1,886.
The rest of the top 10 is occupied by Crystal Elliott (1,883); Maranda Pattison (1,878); Colombia’s Maria Jose Bohr (1,859); and Sweden’s Nora Johansson (1,857).
Zavjalova also was able to put last year’s Tour Championship behind her and treat this year’s event as a fresh opportunity.
“I just treat it as a new tournament. New place, new everything,” said Zavjalova, the 2021 Tour Championship winner who lost to eventual champion Shannon Pluhowsky 289-199 a year ago in the semifinals. “Just me and the lanes, and to just be open-minded and see what the lanes are doing, and just take it one shot at a time.”
With 16 games remaining in round-robin match play, Zavjalova knows there still is plenty of bowling left before the stepladder field is determined.
“We still have lots of games left to play. Anything can happen,” Zavjalova said. “So just going to stay open-minded once again, because we do know the lanes aren’t going to play exactly the same. I hope they do, but I know they’re not going to.”
All 24 competitors will finish match play Monday with two eight-game blocks starting at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. before the top five advance to the stepladder finals at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. All rounds of competition will be streamed live on BowlTV, with the finals being simulcast on Bowling TV, the 24-hour channel dedicated entirely to bowling, which can be found on Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, DISH TV, Bonusview, Sling Freestream, Plex, Free Live Sports and Bowling TV’s Roku app.