Govortsova claims second W100 triumph in Nicholasville

Olga Govortsova won the second $100,000-level tournament of her career – and her first since 2012 – after beating USA’s Claire Liu to the title at W100 Nicholasville on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Belarusian, who hadn’t won a hard court title since 2016 prior to this weekend, didn’t drop a set all week en route to winning her ninth career title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

Govortsova saw off three Americans – Grace Min in the first round, Madison Brengle in the semi-finals and Liu 6-4 6-4 in the title match – on top of fairly routine triumphs over Australia’s Astra Sharma in the second round and Germany’s Mona Barthel in the quarter-finals – to seal the triumph, her first since she won the W25 Darmstadt title last June.

A former world No. 35, Govortsova, now ranked at No. 188, reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2015 but hasn’t featured in the main draw at a Grand Slam since she fell in the first round at Wimbledon the following year in 2016. She’ll no doubt be hoping her title run at the inaugural event in Nicholasville can spark a rankings resurgence.

An all-American doubles final saw 25-year-old duo Quinn Gleason and Catherine Harrison win the first W100 title of their careers – and their first title together – after defeating teenage duo Hailey Baptiste and Whitney Osuigwe 7-5 6-2.

The triumph marked a sixth ITF title for Harrison, and a 10th for Gleason.