Pareja, 17, wins biggest title yet in style on Mexican clay
Seventeen-year-old American Julieta Pareja enjoyed a week to remember on Mexican clay - claiming the biggest title of her professional career on the ITF World Tennis Tour at W50 Chihuahua.
Pareja didn’t’ drop a set en-route to a hugely impressive victory, ultimately defeating Canadian Kayla Cross 6-3 7-6(5) in the title match.
It was a second professional singles title for Pareja, who also won at W15 Rancho Santa Fe in 2024.
The teenager, who reached No. 1 in the world last year after finishing runner-up to Mia Pohankova in the girls’ singles final at Wimbledon, ended her junior career as recently as November – when she helped USA defend its title at the Billie Jean King Cup Junior Finals in Santiago.
Currently ranked outside the WTA top 300, Pareja is expected to be pushing the world's top 250 when the WTA rankings are next updated after Miami.
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Elsewhere, Sofia Costoulas is also set to climb to a new career-high ranking next week after picking up her first title of the season on Japanese hard courts at W75 Kofu.
The 20-year-old Belgian defeated China’s Ma YeXin 7-5 6-3 to collect her fifth career singles title on the ITF World Tennis Tour overall.
She rises to No. 132 in the WTA live rankings as a result – eight spots above the career-high placing she achieved at the turn of this month.
Costoulas is a product of the ITF Pathway, having climbed as high as No. 2 in the world as a junior.
Her junior highlights include reaching the final of the girls’ singles event at the 2022 Australian Open, and winning 10 titles – including two at the highest level of the World Tennis Tour Juniors in Offenbach and Pretoria.
Costoulas was joined in winning a W75 title over the weekend by Tatiana Prozorova, who brought an end to Belgian Hanne Vandewinkel’s stunning 19-match winning streak on the ITF World Tennis Tour in the final at W75 Maribor.
Prozorova won 6-3 6-3 in the title match at the Slovenian tournament as Vandewinkel finally ran out of steam, although the Belgian is set to crack the Top 100 next week as a result of her scintillating recent form.