Podoroska wins biggest career title yet at W60 Saint-Malo
Nadia Podoroska collected the most significant title on offer since the resumption of the ITF World Tennis Tour in August – and the biggest tournament triumph of her career – after beating Spaniard Cristina Bucsa to win W60+H Saint-Malo.
The 23-year-old Argentine defeated Bucsa 4-6 7-5 6-2 to claim her third title of the season, her 14th ITF title overall and her first above the $25k prize money bracket.
“I'm very happy with this victory, with the way I felt during the whole week and with the confidence that I have built up,” said Podoroska. “It was a very close, very difficult match and it was important to remain confident. I managed to keep my cool, to stay calm and I didn't think too much about the end result."
The win for Podoroska, who has a 35-6 professional win-loss record in 2020 and has claimed titles at W25 tournaments in Malibu and Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe), sees her climb 35 places in the WTA rankings to a career-high No. 130 – which puts her firmly in the mix for Roland Garros qualifying.
The Argentine has qualified for a Grand Slam once before – at the 2016 US Open – and will have high hopes of matching that feat at the Paris major, which begins on 21 September.
“Roland Garros is of course a goal, but I think we really have to continue to work in the same way," she said. "It's the key to get there."
Runner-up Bucsa, meanwhile, had plenty to celebrate despite missing the opportunity to win a fifth ITF title - and second at W60 level (having won at W60 Nantes last year) - with the Spaniard climbing 23 places to a career-high WTA ranking of No. 154.
Polish duo Paula Kania and Katarzyna Piter collected the doubles title in Saint-Malo, defeating compatriot Magdalena Frech and Viktorija Golubic 6-2 6-4.
For Kania, it was a first professional title in five years – since her triumph at the ITF event in Tunis with Maria Irigoyen in 2015 – while Piter collected another significant ITF doubles title in 2020, having triumphed at W100 Cairo alongside Aleksandra Krunic in February.