Kaja Juvan will jump on the rankings for almost 200 places

Slovenian tennis player Kaja Juvan in the finals of the WTA 125 Series tournament in French Saint-Maloj had to acknowledge the superiority of the famous Japanese Naomi Osaki. Former number one world tennis and four -time grand slam tournaments celebrated 6: 1 and 7: 5, winning her first title after returning to the tour and the first on a sandy ground.

For the 24-year-old Ljubljana woman, the appearance in Saint-Malo was the most successful week after almost one-year absence from tennis courts. She recorded four victories on her way to the finals, including against the third seed of the tournament, American Katie Volynets (70 on the WTA scale), and Swiss Victoria Golubic (92) and Continent naef (180), which provided her with a jump on the WTA scale – from the initial 515. The city will approach 350.

Juvanova returned to tour in January

Juvanova returned to the tour in January this year, after a long break, which made her slip on the world rankings. With the help of a protected ranking, this season it can perform on a limited number of higher score tournaments, but mostly compete in lower rank tournaments. The Saint-Malo finals was her second in WTA tournaments-the first to play in 2022 in Strasbourg, where she lost against Germany after a tense duel Angelique Kerber. At the time, she also occupied the highest career – 58. In the world.

The Slovenian tennis team has one WTA title in the doubles competition in her career, which she won in 2021 in Romanian Clu, along with Russia Natal jalamidze. Osaka also after a long absence – in the meantime she gave birth to a daughter last year Shai – returned to the tour this January. In Saint-Malo, she celebrated her first title as a mom and seventh in her career. Previously, she last celebrated at the Australian Open in 2021. After winning in France, she will be among the top 50 actresses in the new rankings.

The final match in the northwest of France lasted an hour and 25 minutes. The first set was entirely in the sign of Japanese, and in the second, Juvanova returned with an outstanding game and led by 4: 2. Osaka then caught the connector, with 5: 4 already had the first final ball, and finally celebrated the « break » in the twelfth game of the second set, when the Slovenian woman lost his service without a point.