Tikhonova rockets in the rankings after W100 Dubai triumph
Anastasia Tikhonova leapt into the world’s Top 160 after winning the biggest title of her career on the ITF World Tennis Tour at W100 Dubai.
The 22-year-old, who had won just one match since reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 125 Tampico event in last October, strung five match-wins together in style in the UAE.
She began her week with a battling victory over Arina Rodionova – the ITF tour leader for matches and titles won in 2023 – and ended it with a clinical 6-1 6-4 triumph over Dutchwoman Arianne Hartono.
As a result she leapt 58 places in the rankings to a career-high No. 158 - a significant leap ahead of the new season, although likely not quite enough to put her in contention for a place in qualifying at January's Australian Open.
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Both Tikhonova and Hartono were contesting the biggest final of their careers to date.
Runner-up Hartono had also overcome an indifferent run of form to reach the title match, having lost her previous five matches in succession before arriving in Dubai.
The 27-year-old Dutchwoman leaps 26 spots to a career-high No. 152.
Click here for all this weekend’s women’s results on the ITF World Tennis Tour