Stars are born and legends grow at 2025 World Individual Championships
One of the most exciting aspects of the ITF Masters World Individual Championships (30-45) is the mixture of new stars and growing legends. This was again notable at the 2025 World Championships in Manavgat, Türkiye on 15-22 March.
There were two first-time singles champions in the women's event.
Sarah Kandruth of Austria became the first player from her nation to be crowned champion in the 30+.
After failing to serve for the title at 5-1 in the second set, a visibly tight Kandruth re-grouped and served it out at the second opportunity.
“I was so nervous, I couldn’t work my racket,” Kandruth told itftennis.com. “It means a lot to me that I won and achieved my goal.”
USA’s Mariko Fritz-Krockow, who lost in the final to Manon Kruse last year in Portugal, defeated perennial contender Silvia Chuda of Slovakia in the 40+ event, following up her success with USA in last week’s World Team Championships.
“I’m elated. Excited. I’m thrilled,” Fritz-Krockow said. “My big goal before I came here was to win teams and singles. I wanted those two so badly. I’ve gotten close a couple times, so this was the goal. I'm so excited I achieved it.”
By contrast, the other women’s singles champions were two players whose Masters legacy continues to grow year on year.
Rita Freitas, of Portugal, won her third world singles title in four years but her first outside her home city of Lisbon, defeating Germany’s Eileen Aranas-Roth in the final of the 35+.
Germany’s Kruse now boasts a total of five singles world titles after defeating her compatriot Mirja Wagner in the 45+ final. She backed up her singles title by winning the Women’s Doubles 40+ alongside Chuda, who achieved partial revenge over Fritz-Krockow and her Australian partner Angela Lawrence-Hardy.
On the men’s side, Samuel Arauzo Martinez of Spain stole the headlines, completing a rare and impressive quadruple. He followed his victory with Spain in the team event with victories in the 35+ Singles against Argentina’s Damian Iturriaga, 30+ Doubles alongside compatriot Roger Ordeig, and 30+ Mixed Doubles alongside Estonia’s Kadi Liis Saar.
For Arauzo Martinez, his achievement was particularly rewarding after he suffered heartbreak the previous year in Lisbon.
“It is very important for me," Arauzo Martinez told itftennis.com. “I lost three finals last year in Lisbon, so to win all three events makes me very happy. My family have been watching my matches back home in Spain and they are very happy too.”
The other gold medallists in the Men’s Singles events were relatively unknown on the ITF World Tennis Tour Masters but all boast impressive careers on the ATP Tour.
Tomas Gerini, born in Argentina but representing Italy, won the 30+ in his first Masters World Championships. An ex-ATP player, his huge ball-striking first registered a mark when he defeated top seed Ordeig in the round of 16, and he continued to impress throughout the week, culminating in a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Brazil’s Joao Pedro Gomes Leme in the final.
Lauri Kiiski, of Finland, who achieved a career-high ATP ranking of 427, defeated Argentina’s Adriano Mucelli in an epic three-and-a-half-hour final, which he won in straight sets. In doing so, Kiiski became the first player from his nation to win a World Championships singles title.
Meanwhile, 11-time singles champion Roberto Menendez Ferre could only finish runner-up this year in the 40+ event. His decision to play down an age group proved costly as he lost to Mikhail Elgin in the final, who reached an impressive career-high ATP ranking of 123.
Finally, a notable mention goes to the Pakistan doubles pair of Aqueel Khan and Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi, who followed up their historic bronze medal at the Team event with a first ever gold medal for Pakistan in the 45+ Men's Doubles.
You can find the full results here: World Individual Championships (30-45) Draws and Results