Marcinko becomes third youngest in WTA Top 150 after latest ITF crown
Petra Marcinko continued to demonstrate why she is such an exciting talent in women’s tennis after winning her sixth ITF World Tennis Tour title at W60+H Caldas da Rainha, in Portugal, on Sunday.
The 17-year-old Croatian collected her second title at W60 level without dropping a set all week, defeating Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean 6-4 6-1 in the title match.
Marcinko, who won the girls’ singles title at the 2022 Australian Open, overcame another rising star in 16-year-old Alina Korneeva (also a supreme performer at junior level having won first two junior Grand Slams of this season) in a tight semi-final battle.
Aged just 17 years and 294 days, Marcinko is the youngest Croatian woman to win as many as six titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
As a result of her efforts last week, she leapt to a new career-high WTA ranking on Monday.
At No. 143, she becomes the 10th teenager to rank inside the current Top 150. She is the third youngest in that group – behind 16-year-olds Brenda Fruhvirtova, the world No. 135, and world No. 62 Mirra Andreeva.
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Marcinko, the 2021 ITF World Champion in the junior category, was one of 44 players, both professional and junior, to have been awarded financial assistance through an ITF-administered Grand Slam Player Grant in 2022 to help with her evolution as a tennis player.
Elsewhere, it was also an excellent week - and month - for 18-year-old Canadian Marina Stakusic, who won the biggest title of her fledgling career on Californian soil at W60 Berkeley.
Stakusic, a former junior world No. 31, also cantered to the title without dropping a set – defeating American Allie Kiick 6-3 6-4 in the final.
The win came off the back of her first tournament win on the ITF World Tennis Tour three weeks earlier at W25 Valladolid.
Click here for the latest tournament winners on the women’s ITF World Tennis Tour