A NEW WTA Tour champion was crowned in Portoroz as a teenage star continued her rise up the rankings, and some experienced talents won titles on the ITF Tour.

LUXEMBOURG OPEN | WTA 250:
Luxembourg, Netherlands | Hard

Winner: Clara Tauson (Denmark)

Three weeks after winning a 125K title in Chicago, defeating Emma Raducanu in the final prior to the US Open, the Danish 18-year-old has stormed to her second WTA Tour title, backing up her Lyon Open trophy in March this year. It means she has now won three titles in 2021 between the 125K and 250K series, and whilst it is not quite the Grand Slam that Raducanu won after their clash, it shows that the Danish sensation is about to hit the same level, especially given her extra height (182cm) and serving prowess. Tauson defeated Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in three sets, 6-3 4-6 6-4 in two hours and three minutes, serving up eight aces, and winning 69.4 and 63.2 per cent of her first and second serves respectively. She broke four times to two, and critically put pressure on Ostapenko’s second serve, winning 70.8 per cent of them, with Ostapenko not winning more than 36.8 per cent off Tauson’s second serve.

Tauson’s run to the final was far from simple, having to overcome Czech Republic’s fifth seed and 2019 Roland Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-final, with victories over another Czech in Marie Bouzkova in the quarter finals, and fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16. The win has helped the Dane move up to a career-high 52nd in the world.

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ZAVAROVLNICA SAVA PORTOROZ | WTA 250:
Portoroz, Slovenia | Hard

Winner: Jasmine Paolini (Italy)

The world number 87 is a very different player to Tauson, standing at just 162cm, but proving a menace in season 2021 with the 25-year-old having a fairly solid year outside the WTA Tour’s main events. The Italian won the Bol 125K event in June and reached the final of the Saint-Malo 125K event a month earlier. This time it was at the 250 level, defeating third seed Alison Riske in the final, 7-6 6-2 to breakthrough for her maiden trophy, and doing it on hard court away from her strong clay. She won the final 7-6 6-2 in an hour and 45 minutes, producing a more consistent service effort, with 51.1 and 57.1 per cent success off her first and second serves compared to Riske’s lowly 48.6 and 33.3 per cent, and she did it off a higher clip of 69.1 to 57.8 per cent. Paolini also break six times to four during the tight contest, running away with it in the second set.

After winning via retirement in the opening round against Ukrainian second seed Dayana Yastremska, Paolini claimed a straight sets wins over Anna Kalinskaya, then was made to work for it in her next three matches. Going to three sets from the quarter finals through to the final, Paolini fought hard to defeat fourth seed Romanian Sorana Cirstea, second seed Yulia Putintseva, and then Riske, meaning the Italian took out three of the top four ranked players at the event. Paolini has moved up 18 spots to number 69 in the world with her win.

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BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia | W80:
Valencia, Spain | Clay

Winner: Martina Trevisan

Second seed Martina Trevisan ran away with the Valencia W80 title thanks to a come-from-behind win over Hungarian seventh seed Dalma Galfi. Trevisan dropped the first set but came back to 2in 4-6 6-4 6-0, with the world number 79 getting the job done on her favourite clay surface. It is her first title since 2019 where she won a W25 event in Santa Margherita, and is the most major of her career, yet to breakthrough at WTA Tour level yet. Trevisan has moved into 70th in the world with her victory.

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Portugal Ladies Open | W60+H:
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal | Hard

Winner: Saisai Zheng (CHN)

Top seed Saisai Zheng predictably took out the title at a far lower level than she is used to competing, though did not have it all her own way in the final. She knocked off third seed Harmony Tan in three sets, 6-4 3-6 6-3 with the former Top 40 WTA Tour player now ranked 94th in the world. She last won a major event in San Jose on the WTA Tour in 2019, with her last ITF title come back in 2018. Saisai has marginally risen five spots back to 89th in the world.

Picture credit: IWTP