Happy Hennemann claims twin titles at W25 Bath

Sweden’s Caijsa Wilda Hennemann will surge to a new career-high inside the WTA Top 400 after claiming both the singles and doubles titles at W25 Bath, much to the delight of the 20-year-old.

Hennemann defeated home hope Eliz Maloney of Great Britain 6-1 7-5 in the singles final to collect her second ITF World Tennis Tour title after winning W15 Saint Palais sur Mer in September 2020. She also landed the doubles crown in Bath, partnering Estonia’s Elena Malygina for a 6-4 6-3 win over Arina Gabriela Vasilescu of Romania and Briton Emily Webley-Smith.

“I am very happy,” a delighted Hennemann told Tennis.se. “I played really good tennis, it got better and better with each match. I did not have any special expectations before this tournament, so I was satisfied when I reached the semi-finals and fought for a victory.

“Once you are in the final, it gets a little tense because you really want to take it home. I went in and played my game, I followed my plan and played my best tennis to win. I still have many areas to improve and it's just a matter of taking that experience and continuing to train.

Hennemann, who came into the tournament ranked No.485 in the world, is set to jump almost 100 places in the WTA rankings – a boost that comes with tangible benefits for her game.

“Getting into the top 400 means that I may be able to play more main draws at W25 level without having to qualify,” she explained. “I'm so happy about this.”

Hennemann wasn’t the only player to sweep the titles on the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour this week. USA’s Sophie Chang left W25 Vero Beach, FL with both titles after defeating former world No. 60 Vera Lapko of Belarus 6-1 1-6 6-2 for the singles crown.

Chang and partner Allie Kiick claimed victory in the all-American doubles final, defeating Anna Sinclair Rogers and Christina Rosca 6-3 6-3. It was Chang’s 11th ITF doubles title, sealed alongside her second in singles and first in four years.

At W25 Monastir, Maja Chwalinska claimed her first ITF World Tennis Tour singles title outside her native Poland – and first on hard courts – with a 6-4 6-4 victory over France’s Carole Monnet.

Chwalinska claimed a hat-trick of Polish titles in 2019 at W60 Warsaw, W25 Grodzisk Mazowiecki and W25 Bytom, all on clay. By contrast, Monnet was bidding for her seventh singles title in Tunisia, but first at W25 level.

In Brazil, Germany’s Lena Papadakis claimed her second title and first W25 with victory at Blumenau-Gaspar. The 23-year-old defeated Slovenia’s Pia Lovric 6-1 -76(6) to break back into the WTA Top 500.

Hurricane Tyra Black claimed back-to-back titles – albeit over a month apart – after starting her 2022 season as she ended 2021. The top-seeded American 20-year-old defeated Czech Barbora Palicova 6-0 6-4 to secure her second W15 Antalya crown, two months after triumphing at W15 Guatemala in November.

Keep an eye out for Sapfo Sakellaridi of Greece, whose impressive run of results in Egypt continues with a second straight W15 Cairo title. The 18-year-old has now reached four finals in succession, having fallen short in two title matches in Giza before claiming her first ITF World Tennis Tour title in Cairo a week ago.

Having repeated the feat without dropping a set once more, the Greek will be biding to make it a treble of titles this week.

View all the weekend's results from the women's ITF World Tennis Tour here