Naomi Osaka`s decision to accept a wild card into the Saint Malo event in France proved successful at this week`s WTA 125 tournaments. Meanwhile, Dalma Galfi and Bianca Andreescu also secured titles in Spain.
Here`s a summary of the action from the clay-court WTA 125 events held over the weekend:
Wild card Osaka Captures Saint Malo Title
Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka from Japan claimed the first WTA 125 title of her career on Sunday. Playing in Saint Malo, France, she defeated Kaja Juvan of Slovenia with a score of 6-1, 7-5 to win the L`Open 35 de Saint Malo tournament.
Osaka is a highly accomplished player, having won four Grand Slam titles and three additional Hologic WTA Tour titles. However, she had not won a singles title at any level since her victory at the 2021 Australian Open.
This changed this week after Osaka entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed via a wild card. She navigated the draw effectively, dropping just one set each against French players Diane Parry and Leolia Jeanjean on her way to the final.
Notably, this wasn`t Osaka`s first WTA 125 final appearance. She was the runner-up to Yaroslava Shvedova at WTA 125 Hua Hin back in 2015.
A quick acknowledgment goes to Kaja Juvan, a former Top 100 player who returned to the tour in January after a 12-month break and quickly reached a WTA 125 final.
The doubles title in Saint Malo was won by the top seeds, Maia Lumsden and Makoto Ninomiya. They defeated the second seeds, Oksana Kalashnikova and Angelica Moratelli, 7-5, 6-2 in Saturday`s final.
Galfi Claims Vic Title, Extends Winning Streak to 10
Hungary`s Dalma Galfi had not won a WTA 125 title until she lifted the trophy in Oeiras last month. Now she boasts two.
On Saturday, Galfi secured the Catalonia Open title in Vic, Spain, by sweeping past Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland 6-3, 6-0. Galfi is currently riding an impressive 10-match winning streak.
Galfi`s performance in Vic was completely dominant. She did not lose more than four games in any single set throughout her run.
Galfi, who was a World No. 1 junior a decade ago, appears to be in the best form of her professional career. Her recent success is projected to move her back into the Top 100 of the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday, having been ranked No. 149 just three weeks prior.
In related news from Vic, another Grand Slam champion also won a title via a wild card this week. 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu partnered with Aldila Sutjiadi to win the doubles title.
Andreescu and Sutjiadi defeated Lulu Sun and fellow Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez with a 6-2, 6-4 score in Friday`s Catalonia Open doubles final.
Rupert Caldwell