Clara Tauson made the perfect return from a “long break” from international tennis, winning the first women’s tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour in five months at W15 Oeiras.

The 17-year-old Dane showed few sign of rustiness on the Portuguese coast, winning five matches – including a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Spaniard Maria Gutierrez Carrasco in the final – to collect her seventh title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

It was also her second tournament triumph of the season, to add to her February win at W25 Glasgow before the Covid-19 pandemic brought about a lengthy suspension of the Tour.

“It's been a long break, but I played some national tournaments [over the summer] and I did pretty well, so coming here I knew I had a pretty solid game and form,” said Tauson. “But it's been so long since I played the international tour and there were so many good players here that it was always going to be really tough.

“I'm extremely happy to have pulled through this week with a lot of tough matches.”

Tauson was one of three former junior world No. 1s to compete in Oeiras, along with French duo Clara Burel, who she overcame in a three-set opening round battle, and Diane Parry, who fell to runner-up Carrasco in the second round.

Tauson, who won the 2019 Australian Open girls’ singles title, has made a seamless transition from the junior to the professional realm, but is intent on continuing to improve rather than setting any specific targets for the remainder of the season.

“I don't really have a big goal for this year, just to get better,” she said. “I started working with a new coach, so we had a lot of focus on improving everything there is to improve, my playing style and how I act, so right now we don't have a goal ranking-wise."

W15 Oeiras, along with the M25 Vogau men’s event, was the first tournament to return on the ITF World Tennis Tour following its five-month suspension, with a series of protocols in place to mitigate the risk of exposure to, and spread of, Covid-19.

Tauson admitted the new reality has taken some getting used to, but is confident that the measures in place can ensure the safe return of the Tour.

"It's obviously very different from high-fiving everybody when you see them and just sitting normally and talking, because you have to wear a mask, but these are measures that need to be taken in these times,” said Tauson. “I just want everybody to be healthy and hope that we are not having to cancel any more tournaments because of this. It's good rules we have to keep [to]. I want to play some more tournaments this season!"