WTA Spherical-up | Sonmez lifts Mérida trophy, whereas Todoni collects Bolivia Open title

The 2 remaining WTA 250 and WTA 125 occasions of final week in Mexico and Bolivia had been concluded on Sunday…

Mérida | WTA 250 Mérida Open Akron

In Mexico, each the semi-finals and closing had been performed on Sunday, with Turkey’s Zeynap Sonmez lifting the WTA 250 Mérida Open Akron trophy after an extended day.

22-year previous Sonmez gained her Final 4 match over 17-year-old Alina Korneeva from Russia, getting back from 2-4 down within the first set to prevail, 7-6(5) 6-2, and attain her first tour-level closing.

Her opponent within the closing, American Ann Li, accomplished her rain-delayed semi-final match by defeating  one other Russian, Polina Kudermetova, 6-3 4-6 6-2, successful 4 of the 5 video games they contested on Sunday after the resumption of play.

Sonmez then posted a giant end result for each herself and her nation of Turkey by successful her first Hologic WTA Tour singles title on the Merida Open Akron on Sunday, cruising previous Li, 6-2 6-1 within the night closing.

The World No 127 wanted simply 70 minutes to defeat 24-year-old Li, a former High 50 participant at present ranked 111.

With the win, Sonmez turns into the primary Turkish participant in over 8 years to win a WTA singles title, with Cagla Buyukakcay being the primary Turkish WTA singles champion when she claimed the Istanbul title on house soil in 2016.

Sonmez’s methodical stand up the WTA ranks over the previous couple seasons has been spectacular, by no means having cracked the High 300 earlier than 2023, however now edging nearer to a possible High 100 debut.

She made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at this 12 months’s Roland Garros, and have become the primary Turk to make a WTA quarter-final since Buyukakcay in 2017, when she reached the Final 8 in Monastir.

Sonmez took management early in Sunday’s closing, and by no means let up, slamming a volley winner to take a 4-2 lead and wrapping up the one-set benefit 2 video games later.

Within the second, she broke Li’s serve 3 instances in succession, and by no means dropped serve, reeling off the final 6 video games to gather the title.

The Mérida Open Akron doubles title went to America’s Quinn Gleason & Ingrid Martins of Brazil, the No 1 seeds, who defeated the unseeded Belgian pair of Magali Kempen & Lara Salden, 6-4 6-4, changing 5 of seven break factors within the 91-minute closing on Sunday.

It’s the first WTA doubles title for 29-year-old Gleason, who was beforehand a doubles finalist at 2023 Prague, whereas 28-year-old Martins has now gained 2 WTA profession doubles titles, having beforehand teamed up with Lidziya Marozava to win the 2023 Dangerous Homburg title.

WTAtennis.com

Santa Cruz | WTA 125 Bolivia Open

Anca Todoni of Romania collected her second WTA 125 title of the 12 months on the Bolivia Open in Santa Cruz, Bolivia on Sunday.

The sixth seed defeated unseeded Emiliana Arango of Colombia, 7-6(5) 6-0, within the clay-court singles closing.

Todoni was a break down within the first set on two separate events, however gritted out the tiebreak en path to a 1 hour 34 minute win.

Of their first profession assembly, Todoni prevailed on 10 of Arango’s 14 second-service factors, which helped the Romanian convert 5 of her 11 break factors within the closing.

Todoni provides her Santa Cruz triumph to her earlier WTA 125 title, which got here on the clay courts of Bari, Italy in June.

The Romanian was much more dominant this week in Santa Cruz, dropping solely 9 video games in her 4 wins en path to the ultimate.

Arango gave Todoni her hardest check in Sunday’s first set, however as soon as Todoni acquired by means of that, she was again to clean crusing.

The 20-year-old continues to rise on tour in 2024, having began the season ranked No 245 and making her tour-level debut on house soil at Cluj-Napoca, earlier than occurring to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut at Wimbledon, the place she reached the 2nd-round, and at present sits at No117 within the rankings.

The Bolivia Open doubles title was gained by the unseeded pair of Italy’s Nuria Brancaccio & Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain, who upset the No 3 seeds, Spain’s Aliona Bolsova & Valeriya Strakhova from Ukraine, 6-4 6-4, in Saturday’s 78-minute closing.

Brancaccio & Romero Gormaz are on a roll at WTA 125 occasions of late, having gained their first WTA 125 doubles title in September in Ljubljana, Slovenia, additionally on clay.