In another action-packed week on the ITF Pro Circuit, there was plenty to celebrate for Elizaveta Kulichkova and Alison Van Uytvanck who both returned to the winner’s circle after patches of inconsistency affected by injury. Elsewhere, 17-year-old Russian Anna Kalinskaya equaled her biggest title to date, while American teenager Francesca di Lorenzo won six rounds in eight days to capture the biggest title of her career as a qualifier. Let's take a look at this week on the ITF Pro Circuit...
Kulichkova, Van Uytvanck Capture $50K Titles; di Lorenzo, Kalinskaya Victorious in $25K Finals
This week, there were three $50,000 events scheduled to take place in Olomouc, Stockton, and Bursa, respectively. However, after the recent violence in Turkey, the Bursa Cup was put to a halt at the semifinal stage, most likely due to the current circumstances.
But in Olomouc and Stockton, there was definitely a whole lot of tennis to be played. In the former, it was top-seeded Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova who came out on top, fighting back from a set down to trump fourth-seeded compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. After an up-and-down opening set, Kulichkova buckled down and took charge, facing just three break points on her own while converting four of nine break point opportunities for the remainder of the match.
Elsewhere, in the Californian city of Stockton, third seed Alison Van Uytvanck was made to work hard in just her fifth tournament back after a two-month injury layoff. A day after capturing the doubles title, Van Uytvanck sealed the deal in singles, outlasting Russia’s Anastasia Pivovarova 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to capture her tenth ITF singles title, and eleventh overall.
In the three $25,000 finals this weekend, it was Francesca di Lorenzo, Nigina Abduraimova and Anna Kalinskaya who were victorious in the end. From the qualifying, di Lorenzo won six rounds in eight days to win her biggest title to date, defeating Canada’s very own Erin Routliffe 6-4, 6-1 to capture the $25,000 Winnipeg title. On the other side of the world, it was a similar story as Abduraimova defeated home crowd favourite Liu Fangzhou 7-5, 6-3 to win the $25,000 title in Qujing. On the other hand, Kalinskaya was victorious in the German city of Aschaffenburg, outdueling sixth-seeded Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic in three sets.
Other winners this week include China’s Wang Yan, France’s Sara Cakarevic, Japan’s Mijuno Kijima, Sweden’s Jacqueline Cabaj Awad and Spain’s Eva Guerrero Alvatez, the five champions of $10,000 events this past weekend.
$10K Week on the Men's Calendar
On the men's calendar, there were only thirteen $10,000 events scheduled to be played, with only twelve of them being completed this past weekend as a result of the violence in Turkey.
Among the men who tasted victory this weekend include Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans, two of the more well-known players from the twelve champions. Hanfmann downed current junior world number one Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, while Bemelmans outlasted his compatriot Yannick Mertens 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1.
Next Week on the ITF Pro Circuit
With 27 events on the calendar next week, summer action on the ITF Pro Circuit is only getting warmed up. With one-fifth of these tournaments classified as $25,000 or $50,000 events, there is guaranteed to be some huge surprises.
Players in action next week include Van Uytvanck, Great Britain’s Laura Robson, and the United States’ Grace Min.
NOTE: Due to the commencement of the Rogers Cup next weekend, there will be no ITF Roundup as yours truly will be there to cover the qualifying rounds. This segment will resume two weeks from now with coverage of the week’s action.