Korneeva, 16, becomes youngest player in history to claim a W100 title
Junior world No. 1 Alina Korneeva continued her meteoric rise by conquering all before her and claiming the biggest title of her career, as a qualifier, at W100 Figueira da Foz.
Aged 16 years and one month, Korneeva is the youngest player – and the first ever 16-year-old – to top the podium at a W100 event, with Caty McNally of the United States the second youngest. She was 17 when she triumphed at W100 Midland in 2019.
As a reminder, W100s are the highest classification of women’s event on the ITF World Tennis Tour and offer the most ranking points, prize money and prestige for the winners.
Korneeva’s latest success, her second ITF World Tennis Tour title of an increasingly impressive season, has seen the Moscow-born teenager jump 106 places to a career-high No. 220 in the WTA Rankings.
Such a hike puts Korneeva, whose father won bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games as part of the Russian volleyball team, in contention – rankings wise at least – for a place in the qualifying draw at the US Open.
Back to W100 Figueira da Foz, Korneeva went from strength to strength after navigating qualifying and edging past Great Britain’s Harriet Dart in the first round, but only after saving match point.
She then progressed to the final, defeating Japan’s Haruka Kaji, Switzerland’s Ylena In-Albon and Harmony Tan of France in straight sets, before dispatching Carole Monnet 6-0 6-0 just 49 minutes.
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“I am so happy about this tournament, about the result and about the final because I played really well and concentrated from the first to the last ball,” said Korneeva.
“I felt that if I missed three balls in a row, she [Monnet] started to play better and better, so the key was to play every ball without any emotion and not miss a lot. I have never beaten such a good player 6-0 6-0 before.
“I think I am so competitive firstly because of my family because I come from a sports family and that has really helped me, but also because I want to play tennis all my life and win a lot. To win tournaments and Grand Slams, I have to play at a high level.”
Korneeva has enjoyed a fabulous campaign and is now very much making her mark within the professional ranks, having also lifted silverware at W60 Pretoria in March and at W15 Casablanca in September 2022.
At the same time, she has also thrived within the junior space and topped the podium at the Australian Open Junior Championships in January and the Roland Garros Junior Championships in June.
Earlier this month at Wimbledon, Korneeva was aiming to become the first girl in history to win the opening three Junior Grand Slams of a campaign, only to fall in the semi-finals of the girls' singles to Czechia’s Nikola Bartunkova.
While that particular trophy slipped from her grasp, the one at W100 Figueira da Foz certainly did not, and it would come as little surprise if Korneeva managed to expand her trophy collection between now and the end of the campaign.