Petra Marcinko continued her perfect start to the year on the ITF World Tennis Tour, winning her first two ITF singles titles in back-to-back tournaments at W25 Antalya.

The 16-year-old Croatian defeated Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the final in Turkey on Sunday to improve her record for the season to 16-0 at all levels, having also triumphed at the 2022 Australian Open Junior Championships.

Marcinko has won the last 24 matches she has contested, having also claimed the prestigious Orange Bowl junior title in December before a third-round run at J1 Bradenton, where she gave a walkover.

The current junior world No. 1 is one of 44 players, both professional and junior, to have been awarded financial assistance through an ITF-administered Grand Slam Player Grant in 2022.

The Grand Slam Player Development Programme (formerly known as the Grand Slam Development Fund) was established by the four Grand Slam tournaments in 1986 to increase competitive opportunities for players from developing tennis regions.

Marcinko received a grant of $25,000 as a contribution towards competition-related costs, with the overriding aim being her tennis evolution and ability to gain competitive experience at international level, including at the Grand Slams.

The teenager, who has competed in just eight tournaments on the ITF World Tennis Tour since making her debut at W60 Zagreb last April, rockets 359 spots to a career-high No. 569 in the world this week by virtue of her latest success.

Italian Eleonora Alvisi was the only other teenager to claim an ITF women’s title last week, coming through qualifying to win her first pro title at W15 Marrakech.

Alvisi, a former junior world No. 36, defeated American Clervie Ngounoue 6-3 6-1 to achieve a milestone triumph.

Discover all of last week’s winners on the ITF World Tennis Tour here