Top 200 in sight for Avdeeva after Altenkirchen triumph
Julia Avdeeva won the marquee event of the week on the ITF World Tennis Tour at W75 Altenkirchen to move within touching distance of a place in the WTA Top 200.
The 21-year-old defeated Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4 6-4 in the title match at the German tournament for her third career title – and second at the $60,000 prize money level.
Avdeeva overcame three players ranked well above her in world No. 160 Polina Kudermetova, No. 110 Marina Bassols Ribera and No. 82 Oceane Dodin (one of the form players on the ITF World Tennis Tour over the past 12 months) during the week, before seeing off former world No. 37 Van Uytvanck in the decisive match.
Avdeeva’s run of wins will be a huge confidence boost, given she had lost three of her four matches in 2024 prior to the Altenkirchen event, and saw her climb 43 spots to a career-high No. 201 in the world.
Avdeeva is a former junior world No. 58, having recorded wins over the likes of Linda Noskova and Linda Fruhvirtova in ITF junior competition.
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Meanwhile Lulu Sun won her sixth career title after completing a flawless week on British soil at W50 Roehampton.
The 22-year-old Swiss lefthander defeated home favourite Heather Watson 7-5 7-5 in the singles final, denying the Brit her first taste of silverware since she lifted the WTA Acapulco crown in March 2020.
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There was also another good win for Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who edged Hailey Baptiste 6-7(11) 6-1 7-6(1) in the final at W50 Morelia for her second title of 2024.
Bouzas Maneiro has featured in three consecutive finals on the ITF World Tennis Tour over the past monnth, winning at W75+H Porto and W50 Morelia either side of a runner-up finish at W50 Porto.
The Spaniard climbs 12 places to No. 132 in the WTA rankings this week – just seven spots off the career-high she achieved last October.
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