At this week`s WTA 125 events, Naomi Osaka had a successful run in France after receiving a wild card entry. Meanwhile, Dalma Galfi and Bianca Andreescu also secured titles in Spain.
Here`s a summary of the notable results from the clay-court WTA 125 tournaments held over the past weekend:
Osaka Wins Saint-Malo Title as Wild Card
Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka from Japan claimed her inaugural career title at the WTA 125 series on Sunday. Competing in the final of the L`Open 35 de Saint Malo in Saint Malo, France, she defeated Slovenia`s Kaja Juvan with a score of 6-1, 7-5.
Osaka has a distinguished career, including four Grand Slam victories and three additional titles on the Hologic WTA Tour. However, she had not won a singles championship at any level since her last Grand Slam triumph at the 2021 Australian Open.
This changed this week after Osaka accepted a wild card entry as the second seed. While she dropped a set each against French players Diane Parry and Leolia Jeanjean during her campaign, she otherwise advanced smoothly through the draw.
Interestingly, this was not Osaka`s first appearance in a WTA 125 final. Nine and a half years ago, in 2015, she was the runner-up at the WTA 125 Hua Hin tournament, losing to Yaroslava Shvedova.
Special acknowledgment goes to Kaja Juvan, a former Top 100 player, who returned to the tour in January after a 12-month hiatus and quickly reached a WTA 125 final.
The doubles title in Saint-Malo was won by the top-seeded pair of Maia Lumsden and Makoto Ninomiya. In Saturday`s final, they overcame the second seeds Oksana Kalashnikova and Angelica Moratelli 7-5, 6-2.
Galfi Secures Vic Title, Winning Streak Reaches 10 Matches
Hungary`s Dalma Galfi had not won a WTA 125 title until her victory in Oeiras last month. Now she has added a second title to her collection.
On Saturday, Galfi delivered a dominant performance, defeating Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland 6-3, 6-0 to clinch the Catalonia Open title in Vic, Spain. Galfi is currently enjoying an impressive 10-match winning streak.
Her week in Vic was marked by complete dominance, as she did not lose more than four games in any set throughout the tournament.
Galfi, who was a junior world No. 1 a decade ago, is arguably showcasing the best form of her professional career. Just three weeks ago, she was ranked No. 149, but she is projected to re-enter the Top 100 in the updated PIF WTA Rankings released on Monday.
Meanwhile, another Grand Slam champion also utilized a wild card entry this week and concluded it by winning a title. 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu teamed up with Aldila Sutjiadi to win the doubles title in Vic.
Andreescu and Sutjiadi defeated the pairing of Lulu Sun and fellow Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-4 in the Catalonia Open doubles final on Friday.
