Hatouka surges back towards top 250 after Grado triumph

Yulia Hatouka made a late surge towards the top 250 ahead of the cut-off date for Wimbledon qualifying after claiming the biggest title of her career on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

The 23-year-old climbed 52 spots to No. 263 in the world after defeating former ITF Junior World Champion Lucie Havlickova 2-6 6-3 6-1 in the final at W60 Grado.

It was Hatouka’s first title since she won on Kazakh soil at W25 Karaganda in October 2021, but may have come too late to earn her a spot in qualifying for the third Grand Slam of the year.

The ranking entry deadline date for the Wimbledon Qualifying event was Monday 29 May, with players ranked between 105 and 232 guaranteed a place in Roehampton (though given injuries and other withdrawals, a number of players ranked below that are likely to secure a spot).

Hatouka, who has reached the second round of qualifying at both Roland Garros and the US Open in the past, has never featured in the Wimbledon event.

In fact, she has played just four matches on grass in her professional career, twice qualifying for the WTA International event in Bad Homburg, Germany in 2021 and 2022.

Havlickova, meanwhile, broke into the top 200 by virtue of her runner-up finish in Grado - the latest milestone move in a impressive year that saw her claim her first pro singles title at W60 Trnava in March. 

The 18-year-old, who will compete in Wimbledon qualifying for the first time in late June, is set to make her grass court debut at professional level this summer, having won just one match on the surface to date - in the first round of the junior event at Roehampton in 2021.  

Elsewhere this weekend, there was also a valuable win for former world No. 111 Rebecca Sramkova, who won at W40 Otocec for her most significant title triumph in almost four years.

The 26-year-old Slovak, who now has 12 career titles to her name on the ITF World Tennis Tour, overcame Australian Seone Mendez 6-3 7-6(2) in the final.

Click here for all the weekend's results on the ITF World Tennis Tour