Legends dominate at 2025 ITF Masters World Individual Championships
The 2025 ITF Masters World Individual Championships for players aged 75 and above through to 90 and above in Bol, Croatia, came to an exciting conclusion at the Tennis Centre Zlatni Rat.
A host of Masters legends took to the stage on Thursday and Friday to battle it out for the prestigious honour of a World Championships gold medal.
On Thursday, June Pearce (GBR) won her fourth match of the week to clinch her first ever World Championships singles gold in the Women's 90+ event. Herbert Althaus, on the other hand, is a serial winner on the Masters Tour and secured yet another gold medal in the Men's 90+ singles final.
Pearce and Althaus then combined for the Mixed Doubles 90+ final, beating Ana Obarrio and Enrique Ayala 6-0 6-2 to secure a double world title.
Both the Men's 85+ and 75+ singles finals ended in disappointing fashion, as Enrique Lopez Pelliza and Jairo Velasco Ramirez respectively were forced to retire at a set down. This meant champion status for Bruno Renoult (FRA) in the 75+ category and Gordon Waygood (AUS) in the 85+ event.
To counter this disappointment, American Jimmy Parker and Italian Antonio Claudi served up a thrilling contest in the Men's 80+ singles final. Claudi won the first set 6-3, before Parker battled back to take the second set 7-6. A nail-biting finale saw Claudi edge over the line 10-5 in the match tie-break for a second World Championship title in three years.
The 75+, 80+ and 85+ Women's singles all saw the title remain firmly in the grip of the 2024 champions. Marjory Love of Great Britain was clinical in a 6-2 6-1 defeat of American Gwenda Ward, while Donna Fales won yet another world title by beating Argentinian Dora Romero 6-1 6-2.
An all-French affair unfolded in the Women's Singles 80+ event, as teammates Gail Benedetti and Michele Bichon faced off. After victory in the Teams competition last week, the pair both came into the final full of confidence. It was Bichon, though, who took the initiative in the first set and maintained her lead from that point on - running out a 6-4 6-1 winner.
The conclusion of the finals in Bol marked the end of the 2025 ITF Masters World Team and Individual Championships for this year. After a breathless week of entertaining tennis in Croatia, attention now turns to 2026.
You can find the full results here: 75-90 World Individual Championships Draws and Results