Thrilling climax to 2025 ITF Masters World Championships (50-55+)
The blue skies of Lisbon, Portugal, oversaw some excellent tennis as the ITF Masters World Individual Championships for players aged 50 and above through to 55 and above came to an exciting conclusion.
At the CDN Jamor National Tennis Centre, a mouthwatering line-up promised some top quality tennis on finals day. A mixture of new finalists and serial world champions took to the court, with the men's and women's doubles finals taking place on Friday and the singles and mixed doubles finals on Saturday.
The women's 50 singles final was eagerly anticipated, as the top two seeds - Barbara Mulej and Julie Thu - faced off for the gold medal. This final held special interest, with Mulej defending her 50+ title from Mexico City in 2024, while Thu won the 45+ World Championships in Tokyo last November.
Mulej raced away with the opening set 6-1, with some heavy hitting allowing her to dictate the points against a dogged Thu. Mulej never let the momentum slip, winning some bruising rallies to take the second set 6-0, and with it the title. The victory was an incredible sixth world individual title for the Slovenian, in what is becoming a legendary Masters Tour career.
In the men's 50 singles, reigning world champion Clemens Weinhandl was shocked by the unseeded German Lars Wellmann in the semi-finals. Wellmann faced a daunting task in the final against sixth seed Jonathan Garcia, of Spain, who had romped through the draw without dropping a set.
The final was no different, as Garcia dominated from beginning to end with an expert clay court performance. Combining heavy topspin with delicate drop shots, the Spaniard proved too strong for the German as Garcia sealed a 6-2 6-2 victory to claim gold.
The men's 55 singles final pitted Masters stalwart and defending champion Eoin Collins against a new finalist, Enrique Anglada of Chile. Collins had proven unstoppable across the Teams and Individuals event so far, and the result was the same in the final here - Collins ultimately prevailing 4-6 6-2 6-0.
However, that doesn't tell the full story of what was a gritty match played at an extremely high level. Anglada started off the more confident looking as he took the first set, before Collins fought his way back into the match with a 6-2 second set - having recovered from being a break down at 0-2. The American then loosened up and wore his Chilean opponent down, producing a clinical deciding set for another world title.
The women's 55 singles produced the biggest upsets of the Individuals competition. None of the top four seeds were present in the semi-finals, as Sabrina Cantoni upset top seed Anke Wurst, and Lettica Venter defeated second seed Juarate Hardy in the quarter-finals.
Italian Cantoni would carry her momentum through to the final, where she faced unseeded Swede Maria Seger - meaning that a new world champion was guaranteed. Ultimately, Cantoni, who had beaten Seger in a close tie in the Teams competition last week, was too solid as she won gold with an impressive 6-1 6-3 scoreline.
The doubles and mixed doubles finals had a fair share of drama, too. Highlights included a nail-biting 10-4 match tie-break win for Barbara Mulej and Dominika Gorecka in the WD50, a high-tension 7-6 7-6 victory for Marcus Hilpert and Henrik Mueller-Frerich in the MD50, a gold for Chilean pair Gabriel Keymer and Rodrigo Urzua in the MD55, and a clinical 6-0 6-2 performance from top seeds Jurate Hardy and Anke Wurst in the WD55.
In the mixed doubles events, Anke Wurst secured a double gold medal, partnering fellow German Christoph Back to victory in the XD55. Marcus Hilpert fell short of the same achievement in the XD50 event, as he and partner Caroline De Vries lost to the all-Portuguese pair of Dominika Goretcka and Luis Sousa Pinto in a breathless 7-6 5-7 10-5, to cap an incredible week of tennis in the Portuguese capital.
Attention now turns to the ITF Masters 75-80-85-90 World Team and Individual Championships in Bol, Croatia, which runs from 5-18 October 2025.
You can find the full results here: 50-55 World Individual Championships Draws and Results