Diana Shnaider defeats Lin Zhu in Thailand for her first WTA title; Jelena Ostapenko claims second WTA title of the year in Austria

Diana Shnaider won her first title on the Hologic WTA Tour, defeating defending champion Zhu Linz 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the Thailand Open final on Sunday.

Shnaider, 19, won her first title in Hua Hin despite being an unseeded player. She defeated top seed Magda Linette, second seed Zhu, and third seed Wang Xiyu.

Shnaider becomes the second teenager to win a WTA title this season, following World No.3 Coco Gauff. Shnaider, a standout at North Carolina State last year, will return to the top 100 on Monday.

"The atmosphere here feels like a Grand Slam, I'm not lying," Shnaider said on court. "This is a Grand Slam for me here. The people and the energy has been amazing for me."

Shnaider, who was competing in her second WTA final, got off to a fast start and won the first set in 44 minutes. She dominated Zhu from the baseline and was efficient with her break chances, converting the two break points she earned to hand the Chinese veteran her first set loss of the week.

Zhu turned the tables in the second set, capitalizing on Shnaider's slight drop in form. Zhu won four straight games to send the big-hitting final to a deciding set.

However, after a lengthy set break, Shnaider returned to the court with renewed determination. She quickly reset to break Zhu at love with a flurry of jaw-dropping baseline winners, then consolidated the lead to 2-0.

Shnaider did not relent. Battering backhands from the baseline, she broke Zhu for a second break to lead 4-1, and then used her court coverage and touch to seal the historic victory with a stunning backhand winner.

Upper Austria Ladies Linz

No. 1 seed Jelena Ostapenko became the first player to win two Hologic WTA Tour singles titles this year, defeating No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Upper Austria Ladies Linz championship.

In a clash between two former Linz runners-up, 2019 finalist Ostapenko defeated 2018 finalist Alexandrova in just 70 minutes to win her eighth career WTA singles title.

With the win, Latvia's Ostapenko evened her record against Alexandrova at five wins apiece. Ostapenko leads Alexandrova 2-0 this year, having defeated her in last month's Adelaide semifinals.

Both of Ostapenko's 2024 victories over Alexandrova came on the way to her two WTA 500 titles this season, with the Latvian defeating Daria Kasatkina in the Adelaide final. Ostapenko has a sparkling 13-2 win-loss record this year.

This is the first year that Ostapenko has won multiple titles since her breakthrough season in 2017, when she won her first two titles at Roland Garros and in Seoul.

"It was a really good week, and I felt like every match I was playing better and better," World No.12 Ostapenko said, after her win.

"It’s really amazing to win two singles trophies this year already, and winning a doubles trophy as well, [and] playing Australian Open [doubles] final -- it’s like four tournaments and four finals, which is really great."

"I’m just happy with the way I’m playing this year. I think I feel like I’m more mature and more confident with my game, so it even motivates me more to work hard and get back to the Top 10."

Ostapenko returned to Linz for the first time since reaching the final in 2019. That year, she lost the championship match to a teenage lucky loser named Coco Gauff, who went on to win her first WTA title.

Ostapenko's return as the top seed in 2024 almost ended prematurely. Following her first-round bye this week, Ostapenko needed to save a match point in the second round before defeating qualifier Clara Tauson. After surviving that danger, Ostapenko lost no more than three games in any of her subsequent sets.

SportsLigue