Twelve months ago a 14-year-old Slovakian Mia Pohankova ruffled a few feathers when she reached the quarter-finals as a qualifier at a $60,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event in Bratislava.

A year on, returning for just her third professional tournament after being granted a main draw wild card at W75 Bratislava just a week shy of her 16th birthday, she won the whole thing.

Pohankova, who trains at Bratislava’s National Tennis Centre alongside fellow rising junior Renata Jamrichova, came up against the 17-year-old in the final and played with the kind of fearlessness she might display on any regular training day.

She defeated Jamrichova 2-6 6-4 6-2 to win her first professional singles title and just her second singles crown in any capacity at ITF level – adding to the J100 Lousada junior crown she won in Portugal in May 2023.

“I still don't realise what I have achieved,” said Pohankova in her winner’s speech after becoming the youngest player to win the W75 Bratislava tournament. “It was only my third women's tournament. I want to congratulate [Renata] on her [battling] performance. I hope we will meet more often and play together.”

World No. 468 Jamrichova is the reigning junior Australian Open and Wimbledon champion but, for all her potential, she was in fact Pohankova’s most straightforward victim of the week in ranking terms.

She defeated four players ranked inside the world’s Top 250 en route to the title, including a fine 6-3 2-6 6-1 semi-final triumph over world No. 95 Oceane Dodin, before seeing off an out-of-sorts Jamrichova to polish off a memorable week.

“I tried to focus on myself and I finally made it to the end,” Pohankova added. “It’s like a fairy tale for me.”

Jamrichova, on her part, wasn't sure she could compete at the tournament even a few hours before her first match of the week and could be pleased with her efforts in reaching the final - despite missing out on the chance to win a third ITF singles crown and the first of her career above the ITF World Tennis Tour’s entry W15 level.

“A few hours before the start of the [first] match [of the week], I didn't know if I would even compete, so it would be arrogant of me to expect to win,” said Jamrichova. “Mia performed excellently all week and deserved the title. It's great that so many fans came."

Elsewhere, Olga Danilovic won the marquee tournament of the week, winning at W100 Cornella De Llobregat. The new world No. 86 took time out during the week to reflect on her career-best season and her journey along the ITF pathway here.