WTA Spherical-up | Zheng lifts Tokyo trophy, whereas Danilovic and Stakusic win titles in Guangzhou and Tampico

Zheng Qinwen defeats Sofia Kenin to land WTA 500 honours in Japan, as Olga Danilovic beats Caroline Dolehide to raise her 2nd profession title in China, and Marina Stakusic upsets Anna Blinkova to land her first WTA 125 title in Mexico…

All of the gamers [in Riyadh] are actually powerful to beat. Because the first match, [I] have to be centered. … It’s the primary time for me to play within the WTA Finals. I used to be so motivated. However let’s see what’s going to occur. Zheng Qinwen

Tokyo | WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open

Zheng Qinwen, the World No 7, took her third title of the yr on the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis in Tokyo on Sunday, beating Sofia Kenin within the ultimate, and taking her match-winning file to 28-4 since Wimbledon.

The Chinese language was by no means damaged on her technique to a 7-6(5) 6-3 win over the American former World No 4.

It was a hard-fought contest, and Zheng wanted an hour and 52 minutes to prevail in her first profession assembly with Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, to assert her first hard-court title of the season, her fifth profession Hologic WTA Tour singles title.

“I actually recognize that I’m capable of struggle by way of and be the champion in Tokyo,” Zheng mentioned afterwards. “That is the one I wished to get once I was 19 years outdated. I struggle so laborious, however I didn’t, I misplaced within the [2022] ultimate. So this yr, I’m simply actually blissful.”

Zheng received 2 clay-court titles this yr, took house the Gold medal on the 2024 Paris Olympics, and efficiently defended her Palermo title.

In her house nation of China, she made her first profession WTA 1000 semi-final in Beijing, then adopted up per week later by making her first WTA 1000 ultimate in Wuhan.

After beginning this yr by reaching the Australian Open ultimate, Zheng’s sizzling season-ending type helped her clinch one of many final remaining singles spots on the year-ending WTA Finals Riyadh, which begins on Saturday, 2 November.

“All of the gamers [in Riyadh] are actually powerful to beat,” Zheng mentioned. “Because the first match, [I] have to be centered. … It’s the primary time for me to play within the WTA Finals. I used to be so motivated. However let’s see what’s going to occur.”

Zheng broke Kenin as soon as within the second set, saving the one break level she confronted all match, and was almost flawless on serve in Sunday’s ultimate, which was largely performed below a closed roof following two temporary rain delays in the course of the first 4 video games of the ultimate.

She is that this yr’s ace chief on tour, and slammed an unbelievable 16 aces on Sunday, bringing her 2024 complete as much as 406.

Kenin, although, gave Zheng all she may deal with within the opening set, because the American sought her first title since her break-through season of 2020.

The American boldly erased all 5 break factors she confronted within the opener, forcing Zheng into the tiebreak, however the Chinese language eked out the set with a forehand winner after 67 minutes, successful 100% of her first-service factors within the opening body, 21-for-21, denying Kenin any probabilities to get right into a return sport.

Kenin obtained her lone break level at 4-2 within the second, which Zheng wiped away with an large serve, and when the highest seed earned a championship level at 5-3 with a deft reflex volley, she wrapped up the win after the American fired lengthy.

This was the second time in her profession that Zheng was the No 1 seed at a WTA occasion, and he or she has received the title each occasions, at Palermo this summer time and in Tokyo this week.

The 22-year-old will stay at No 7 when the brand new rankings come out, however she’s going to shut the hole barely with No 6 Jasmine Paolini.

Afterward Sunday, the all-Japanese pairing of Shuko Aoyama & Eri Hozumi claimed the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis doubles title on house soil.

Within the ultimate, they defeated their compatriot Ena Shibahara & Laura Siegemund from Germany, 6-4 7-6(3).

Aoyama & Hozumi took slightly below 2 hours to triumph within the all-unseeded ultimate.

They had been unable to serve out the match at 6-5 within the second set, however they transformed their third match level within the second-set breaker to raise the trophy.

It’s Aoyama’s milestone twentieth WTA doubles title, and her first in over a yr, whereas Hozumi is as much as 6 WTA doubles titles in her profession, and that is her first tour-level crown since 2022.

© STR/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

Guangzhou | WTA 250 Guangzhou Open offered by AVAIR

Serbia’s Olga Danilovic beat Caroline Dolehide to raise the trophy in Guangzhou, ending her 6-year title drought.

Ranked 86, 23-year outdated Danilovic captured her 2nd profession Hologic WTA Tour title on Sunday after defeating No 101 qualifier Dolehide, 6-3 6-1, after 75 minutes.

Previous to this week, Danilovic had but to make it previous the Final 16 at a tour-level hard-court occasion, however she misplaced only one set throughout her Guangzhou title run, beating Erika Andreeva, Diane Parry, Mananchaya Sawangkaew and high seed Katerina Siniakova within the semi-finals.

“I’m so blissful, the best way I performed the entire week, the entire match,” Danilovic mentioned. “I’m so pleased with myself and my staff. I confirmed what I can do and show it to myself, I believe, essentially the most.

“So I’m so blissful and really excited to be ending the season this manner.”

26-year-old Dolehide arrived within the ultimate off back-to-back-to-back 3-set wins, two of which went the gap to deciding set tiebreaks, and fewer than 24 hours earlier, the American had survived 4 match factors to edge Lucia Bronzetti, 6-3 3-6 7-6(9) within the Final 4.

Together with qualifying, Dolehide had spent over 3 hours extra on court docket than Danilovic, and the fatigue confirmed within the ultimate.

Danilovic improved her file towards the American to 3-0, however this was their first match that wanted simply 2 units.

The Serbian broke first within the opening set, and her potential to keep up strain on Dolehide’s serve proved the distinction.

Whereas getting damaged simply as soon as herself, Danilovic broke Dolehide 5 occasions within the match, whereas her flatter ball strike stored the qualifier on the run, and when the American tried to assault the web, the Serbian countered with straightforward scientific passing pictures.

Within the doubles, Czech Katerina Siniakova & Zhang Shuai from China, the highest seeds, rolled to the Guangzhou title, defeating Poland’s Katerina Piter & Fanny Stollar from Hungary, 6-4 6-1.

Siniakova & Zhang didn’t drop a set in the course of the week, and Piter & Stollar had been the one staff to win greater than 3 video games towards them in a set.

The win is World No 1 Siniakova’s twenty seventh profession doubles title, her fifth of the season, whereas for former No 2 Zhang, that is her 14th profession doubles title and first of the season.

Previous to Guangzhou, Zhang made 3 finals this yr, in Seoul and Birmingham, with Miyu Kato and the US Open with Kristina Mladenovic.

19-year-old Marina Stakusic received her first WTA 125 title when she upset Anna Blinkova on the Abierto Tampico in Mexico

WTAtennis.com

Mexico | WTA 125 Abierto Tampico

19-year-old Marina Stakusic from Canada recorded the largest title of her younger profession on Saturday on the WTA 125 Abierto Tampico in Tampico, Mexico.

A qualifier into the primary draw, Stakusic upset No 5 seed Anna Blinkova from Russia, 6-4 2-6 6-4, in a gruelling hard-court ultimate to clinch her first WTA 125 trophy.

Stakusic fought again from a third-set deficit earlier than prevailing after 2 hours and 43 minutes of play.

The World No 140 was down a break 4-3 within the ultimate set, however she broke Blinkova, a former High 35 participant, to like to degree after which saved 4 break factors in a tense maintain for 5-4 earlier than breaking the Russian once more for the win.

This week, Stakusic garnered 7 wins, together with 2 in qualifying, and he or she needed to battle by way of the latter levels of the occasion, pushed right into a 7-5 third set by Italian Lucrezia Stefanini within the quarter-finals, and he or she eked out 2 tiebreak units in her semi-final towards Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.

There was extra Canadian success within the Abierto Tampico doubles draw, with Canada’s Rebecca Marino pairing with American Carmen Corley to take the title, beating the Russian pair of Alina Korneeva & Polina Kudermetova, 6-3 6-3, in Friday’s ultimate.

Within the all-unseeded ultimate, Corley & Marino wanted simply 64 minutes to land the trophy, after changing 7 of their 9 break factors.

It’s the first WTA 125 doubles title for each of the victors.