Fourth Tokyo title in five years for Shuai Zhang

Shuai Zhang, one half of the reigning Australian Open women’s doubles champions with Sam Stosur, won the W100 Tokyo title for a fourth time in five years, leaving only 2018 when she did not walk away with the title. The top seed was relatively untroubled all week and secured her first singles title since 2017 with a 6-3 7-5 defeat of Jasmine Paolini. Her win over the Italian sixth seed takes her back into the WTA top 40.

Meanwhile at W25 Orlando, FL, the moment the words “game, set and match” were called by the chair umpire in the singles final Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands created a small piece of ITF history by claiming her tenth ITF singles title of the year, the most in any one calendar year for men or women. And this is despite the worst possible start to her week, losing the opening six games of her tournament to Gabriela Talaba before rallying back to take the next two sets 6-2 7-6(4). That would prove to be Rus’s only lost set of the week which would culminate in a 6-3 6-2 win over Romanian player, Irina Fetecau, in Sunday’s final.

On the men’s side, serial title winner Karim-Mohamed Maamoun of Egypt added a seventh title in 2019 at Sharm El Sheikh, to make it three titles from his last four tournaments and join Ivan Nedelko and Dmitry Popko with the most ITF men’s singles titles for the year.

Of the six teenage title winners at the weekend, four were winning their maiden pro singles title – Harold Mayot, 17, was a winner at M15 Villers Les Nancy and Gauthier Onclin, 18, claimed the title in M15 Meshref whilst in the women’s game Raphaelle Lacasse, 19, triumphed in W15 Cancun and Carole Monnet, 17, took home the W15 Monastir title.

Also celebrating career first pro singles titles were Kelsey Stevenson and Kristjan Tamm who won in M15 Maputo and M15 Monastir respectively.

Stevenson was also among those celebrating winning both singles and doubles titles at the weekend which included Nicolas Alvarez (M25 Orlando), Alexander Erier (M15 Heraklion), Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove (W25 Hua Hin) and Tayisiya Morderger (W15 Solarino)

The doubles title won by Morderger in Italy came playing alongside her twin sister Yana and was their eighth title together. The German twins were not the only siblings to team up for success in week 46 as the Pitak sisters, Aleksandra and Katarzyna, won in W15 Sharm El Sheikh giving the British sisters a third career title together. Brothers Arklon and Conner Huertas del Pino have now won 10 doubles titles together following their win in M15 Cancun.