Another week brings new champions on the Challenger and ITF circuit! Here’s a look at which Russian tennis players competed for titles over the weekend, May 9-10.
The standout performer of recent weeks is 17-year-old Russian Ekaterina Tupitsyna. In January, she reached the junior Australian Open final, and now she has claimed her third consecutive adult tournament victory. All three trophies came in Egypt: the first two in Sharm El Sheikh, and the most recent in Hurghada. Each event was a W15 category tournament.
This week, Tupitsyna was seeded seventh and justified that ranking through to the final. In the title match, the Russian defeated the fifth seed, 18-year-old Italian Noemi Maines (world No. 766), with a score of 6:4, 6:0.
Tupitsyna trains at the Alexander Ostrovsky Academy in Khimki, with legendary coach Boris Sobkin guiding her. Earlier this year, we spoke with Ekaterina about her tennis journey, training process, and transition from juniors to the professional tour.
**Exclusive: ‘I Wasn’t Supposed to Go to Australia’ – Interview with Russian Junior AO Finalist**
Another Russian to lift a trophy last week was world No. 641 Viktoriya Milovanova. The 19-year-old won the W35 tournament in Monastir, defeating French player Yasmine Mansouri (No. 396) in the final. Despite Mansouri being ranked 245 spots higher than Milovanova in the WTA rankings, the Russian triumphed after 2.5 hours with a 6:2, 2:6, 6:4 victory.
Milovanova has reached at least the quarterfinals in her last four ITF events. Earlier this year, she also contested a title at a W15 tournament in Sharm El Sheikh but was stopped by German Selina Dal.
Like Tupitsyna, Milovanova trains at the Alexander Ostrovsky Academy, under the guidance of coach Pavel Tauber.
**Junior Slam Semifinalist Captures Trophy! Russian Players Continue Rise in Pro Tour**
Sixteen-year-old Russian Kristina Lyutova also reached a final this weekend. In February, she had a strong run of ITF tournaments in the United States, rocketing up the WTA rankings to become the first player born in 2010 to break into the top 500.
This week, Lyutova competed at the W100 tournament in Indian Harbour Beach. Along the way, she defeated former world No. 41 Arantxa Rus. In the final, she faced world No. 207 Julia Riera.
Russian players also fought for big trophies in doubles this week. Specifically, 26-year-old St. Petersburg native Maria Kozyreva, partnering with Brazil’s Laura Pigossi, won the WTA 125 tournament in Istanbul.
This is Kozyreva’s fourth Challenger title of the current season! Such a strong start to the year, especially her success in Turkey, will help her solidify a place at No. 55 in the WTA doubles rankings.
**Exclusive: ‘Glad I Played Few $15K Events’ – Russian Kozyreva on the Cusp of Doubles Top 50**
Another Russian duo, Ksenia Laskutova and Elina Nepliy (aged 29 and 28), reached the final of the W35 tournament in Tumkur, India, but were awarded the title without stepping on court. Their opponents, Zuzanna Pawlikowska and Vaidehi Chaudhari, withdrew from the deciding match. This gave Laskutova her second doubles title of the season and Nepliy her first.
However, for 25-year-old Russian Ekaterina Ovcharenko and her Brazilian partner Ingrid Gamarra Martins, luck did not follow the same path this weekend.