With the Australian Open reaching its inevitable conclusion on a beautiful Sunday evening in Melbourne, Australia, many players were looking to rebound from early losses in the first Grand Slam of the season on the ITF Pro Circuit. The level just under the ATP World Tour and the WTA, the ITF Pro Circuit gives lower ranked players opportunities to win and accumulate ranking points, which they can use to further elevate their ranking once they enter the qualifying or main draw of events on their respective professional tours.
McHale, Voegele Rebound from Early Disappointments Down Under in Impressive Style; Cirstea Continues Success in Brazil
First off, the biggest event of the week was won by Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele. The former world number 42 has struggled with injuries and consistency in recent years, forcing her to drop out of the top 100 for the first time since 2012. However, after losing in the second round of qualifying at the Australian Open, Voegele, seeded second, rebounded in impressive style, outclassing Belgium's An-Sophie Mestach in nearly every department to win the $50,000 event in Andrezieux-Boutheon, a commune of the Loire department in central France.
Elsewhere, top seed Christina McHale prevailed in the battle of the Americans, defeating WTA Rising Star Raveena Kingsley 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in a grueling final in the Hawaiian city of Maui. In one of the few tournaments played in the Aloha State, McHale fought past the likes of Nicole Vaidisova and Naomi Broady en route to the title, which comes just two weeks after she lost to eventual semi finalist Agnieszka Radwanska in Melbourne.
Heading down South, third seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea continued her fine form in Brazil, winning the $25,000 title in Bertioga, having made the final of the $25,000 event in Guaruja just a week prior. The former world number 21 defeated Argentine qualifier Catalina Pella 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 in Sunday's final. Cirstea, who has taken a significant fall from grace ever since making the final of the 2013 Rogers Cup - the biggest of her career thus far, has begun her 2016 season in emphatic style, and looks hungrier than ever to return to her best.
Other winners this week include Ons Jabeur, Kamila Kerimbayeva, and Irina Ramialison. Jabeur won the $25,000 title in the Floridian city of Sunrise - a tournament that was ironically forced to begin their first round matches on Friday due to inclement weather, defeating American Anna Tatishvili in the final. Kerimbayeva was victorious at the $10,000 event in Cairo, defeating Chantal Skamlova in three sets, while Ramialison cruised to victory, defeating Kelly Versteeg 6-1, 6-0 in just 42 minutes.
Langer, Betov Among Men to Win Titles This Week
On the men's side, there were evidently not as many big names who went on to win titles this week, but the two champions of the two $25,000 events on the men's calendar were Germany's Nils Langer and Belarus' Sergey Betov. Langer was victorious on home soil this week, defeating seventh seed Niels Desein 6-3, 6-4 to win his eighth ITF singles title, where as Betov was victorious in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, defeating Markos Kalovelonis in the showpiece by the same score line. Betov, the current world number 613, had to go through qualifying but won all eight of his matches en route to the title, which included a stunning three-set victory over top seed Danilo Petrovic.
Other winners this week included Gerard Granollers-Pujol, Hugo Nys, Joris de Loore, and Canadian junior Denis Shapovalov, who were all winners at the $10,000 level.
A Look at Next Week's Tournaments
Next week, there will be 13 tournaments across the tour - seven for the women and six for the men - which include the $100,000 event in Midland, Michigan, one of the biggest tournaments available on the ITF Pro Circuit.
Be sure to check back here next week for your weekly ITF roundup!