Volynets springs up the rankings after W100 triumph in Florida
Katie Volynets won her first professional title in style on the ITF World Tennis Tour on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Californian had appeared in just one other professional final prior to last week, at W25 Malibu in November 2019, and took a huge step forward in her career after battling past Irina Maria Bara in three sets to win W100 Bonita Springs.
Volynets, who leaps 99 places to a career-high WTA ranking of No. 200 this week, entered the Florida tournament as a wild card and promptly overcame three players ranked well above her en route to a milestone victory.
She cruised past world No. 140 Renata Zarazua and No. 81 Madison Brengle in subsequent matches in the second round and quarter-finals, respectively, before battling to a 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 6-1 triumph over world No. 133 Bara in the final.
“Happy to have won my first 100k title!,” wrote Volynets in a post on Instagram. “So thankful for my team and couldn’t have done it without every single one of them! A big thank you to USTA for the Wildcard here. Also, shoutout to my mom for flying here last night to catch my final!”
A former junior world No. 21, Volynets won four titles at junior level, including two Grade 1 titles on American soil in 2018.
Elsewhere, Clara Burel also took a significant forward stride in her early professional career after claiming her biggest title yet on home soil at W60 Saint-Gaudens to climb to a career-high No. 144.
The 20-year-old Frenchwoman had finished runner-up at W60 Oeiras last month but made no mistake on her second appearance in a W60 final – defeating former world No. 26 Alexandra Dulgheru 6-2 1-6 6-2 in a 125-minute title match.
In the other W60 to take place last week, former world No. 89 Irina Khromacheva won her first pro title in three years after triumphing at W60+H La Bisbal D’Emporda in Spain.
Khromacheva, who played just four tournaments during the 2020 season, defeated Arantxa Rus 6-4 1-6 7-6(8) in the final and was rewarded with a 238-place rise in the rankings to No. 330.
Other women’s winners on the ITF World Tennis Tour last week include Italian Lucrezia Stefanini, who won at W25 Salinas; Cristina Dinu, who ended a three-and-a-half-year title drought at W15 Antalya; Shavit Kimchi, who won her first pro singles title on home soil at W15 Jerusalem and Belarusian Anna Kubareva, who won W15 Monastir.
Seven women's tournaments are underway on the ITF World Tennis Tour this week, headlined by W25 tournaments on American soil at Pelham, Alabama and Platja D'Aro in Spain. Follow the latest scores and streams here.