Arina Rodionova’s season on the ITF World Tennis Tour has been nothing short of spectacular – even without accounting for the fact that it comes off the back of a career-threatening wrist injury.

The 33-year-old Australian clinched her seventh ITF singles title of 2023 in Slovakia this weekend after beating Kristina Mladenovic 7-6(1) 5-7 6-1 in the final at W60 Trnava.

It was Rodionova’s second consecutive tournament win, following her triumph on Portuguese soil at W25 Lousada the previous week.

It capped a hugely spirited week in which she recovered from a set down on two occasions, won a deciding third set in all five of her matches, spent over 14 hours on court, and saved five match points against Yulia Hatouka in the semi-finals.

Rodionova has tallied a remarkable 76-21 win-loss record across the 29 tournaments she has contested on the ITF World Tennis Tour in 2023.

The feat of endurance and consistency is all-the-more impressive given that Rodionova’s fine season comes off the back of a wrist surgery in June 2022 that kept her away from the tour for six months and could easily have spelt the end of her playing days.

In the end, Rodionova was determined not to finish her career on an injury and has been rewarded for her endless hard work and rehab over the past 18 months with a new career-high WTA ranking of No. 112 - four spots above the previous high she achieved over six years ago.

Rodionova, who has competed in the main draw at 10 Grand Slams, now has 16 ITF singles titles to her name - including two at W60 level.

It was a good weekend for Australians generally on the ITF World Tennis Tour, with Rodionova's compatriot, 19-year-old Talia Gibson, clinching the biggest title of her career at W60 Gold Coast. The 19-year-old defeated Olivia Gadecki 7-5 6-2 for her fourth ITF singles crown, and her first above W15 level. 

As a result, Gibson leapt 65 places in the WTA rankings to a career-high No. 264 on Monday.

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