Korneeva, 15, bursts on to pro scene with W60 Pretoria triumph
Junior world No. 3 – and reigning Australian Open girls’ champion - Alina Korneeva burst onto the professional scene on the ITF World Tennis Tour on Sunday, winning the title as a qualifier at W60 Pretoria.
Aged just 15 years, eight months and 18 days, Korneeva defeated Timea Babos 6-3 7-6(3) in the title match to become the fifth youngest player to win an ITF tournament at W60 level or above.
Only Mirjana Lucic, Sara Bejlek, Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk have collected an ITF tournament of this - or greater - stature at a younger age.
"I'm really happy about this week,” said Korneeva of her biggest tournament appearance yet. “It was very good. I played cleverly and I stayed calm.
"Today's match was a really tough battle. Timea Babos is a very famous player who has played at a very high level, so I was nervous about the match but I just tried to show my best and that I could do it.
"Maybe she had more pressure because I'm a younger girl, and this helped me with some important points because she made mistakes like double faults. I'm happy that I was able to stay calm in the second set."
Korneeva, whose first professional title came at W15 Casablanca last September, defeated four players ranked inside the top 400 – including world No. 172 Chloe Paquet and No. 192 Ipek Oz – during her fine fortnight in South Africa.
As a result, she joins the WTA's top 400 herself this week - climbing 220 places to a career-high No. 350 on Monday.
The youngster's flying start to professional competition is in keeping with her impact on the junior game, which has so far seen her collect nine titles – including the biggest of the lot in a thrilling final victory at the Australian Open in January.
Keeping her feet firmly on the ground, Korneeva still plans to compete in the junior competition at Roland Garros in May.
> Read more: W60 Pretoria broadens horizons for emerging female tennis players in South Africa
Babos, meanwhile, could celebrate her first appearance in a singles final since she retired injured in the title match at W25 Hamburg in October 2021. The former world No. 25 has won 16 professional singles titles - including four at WTA level - but has not won a singles event in over five years.
Meanwhile, there was also a standout victory for Australian Priscilla Hon this weekend at W60 Canberra - her second W60 crown and first in four-and-a-half-years. Arantxa Rus won W40 Anapoima, while 20-year-old Croatian Antonia Ruzic claimed the biggest title of her career at W40 Ricany.
Click here for all the weekend's results from the ITF World Tennis Tour