Qualifiers Julieta Pareja and Raluka Serban both achieved significant victories in the opening round of the Copa Colsanitas Zurich on Tuesday.
American teenager Pareja, at just 16 years old, made history as the first player born in 2009 to not only compete in a WTA main draw but also to win a match at this level. She accomplished this by defeating Colombian wild card Maria Jose Sanchez Uribe, also 16, with a score of 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour and 16 minutes. This marked the WTA main-draw debut for both young players. Notably, this was the first WTA main-draw match featuring two players under the age of 17 since a 2009 Prague first-round match where 15-year-old Zarina Diyas defeated 16-year-old Kristina Mladenovic.
Currently ranked No. 550, Pareja is also the highest-ranked player born in 2009 in the PIF WTA Rankings, surpassing Hannah Klugman and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi. Her previous achievements include reaching the final qualifying round of the US Open last year as a wild card, where she upset Kayla Day and Lucrezia Stefanini, and winning her first ITF title at the Rancho Santa Fe W15.
To reach the Bogota main draw this week, Pareja won against Carol Zhao and Eva Vedder, both in straight sets during qualifying. Her next opponent is lucky loser Patricia Maria Tig, who caused an upset by defeating local favorite and No. 4 seed Emiliana Arango. A victory for Pareja against Tig would make her the youngest WTA quarterfinalist since Linda Fruhvirtova in 2021.
Earlier in the day, Raluka Serban, ranked No. 204, made history for Cyprus by becoming the first player from the Mediterranean island to win a match at the tour level. She achieved this milestone by defeating Nuria Parrizas Diaz in a hard-fought match lasting 2 hours and 5 minutes. This was Serban`s third appearance in a WTA main draw. Her best Grand Slam performance was reaching the final qualifying round at Roland Garros last year.
Serban, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 152 in 2023, is the only Cypriot player to have broken into the Top 300 and is one of only two Cypriot women currently holding a WTA ranking. Her next challenge will be against No. 1 seed Marie Bouzkova.
Pareja and Serban were not the only players celebrating milestones in Bogota. Hanna Chang, ranked No. 194, secured her first WTA main-draw victory in an all-American first-round match against Varvara Lepchenko.
The defending champion and No. 2 seed, Camila Osorio, progressed with a dominant win over wild card Mariana Isabel Higuita Barraza, also from Colombia. Another past Bogota champion, No. 6 seed Tatjana Maria, won the second-longest match of the year so far against Chloe Paquet, battling for over 3 hours.
Seventeen-year-old Iva Jovic added to the list of American teenagers advancing, upsetting No. 3 seed Alycia Parks. Jovic maintains a perfect record in first-round matches at the tour level. She is set to face Julia Riera in the next round.
