Noskova defeats Sun to win first WTA singles title

Linda Noskova fought her way to win her first career WTA singles championship on Saturday in the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico.

The 19-year-old Czech teenager won the WTA 500 evening final over Lulu Sun of New Zealand 7-6(6), 6-4 in a game that lasted for 109 minutes. For Noskova, the third time was the charm following two unsuccessful tours.

Noskova reacts

“I’ve been waiting for a title or for a trophy for some time now, so it just feels amazing to win such a big tournament here this week,” Noskova said, after her victory.

In the first-set tiebreaker, Noskova saved two set points en route to winning.

“We played some great tennis,” said Noskova. “Her forehand was really killing, so I tried to stay off of it as much as possible. But it was tough at times, especially when I was 4-6 [down] in the tie break. I’m glad I managed to change that into my positive.”

For both Noskova and Sun, the Saturday night match was a chance to win their first WTA title. Noskova wanted to turn around the outcomes of her two previous finals defeats at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka in Adelaide in 2023 and Nao Hibino in Prague in 2023.

On the other hand, until this week, Sun had never made it past a tour-level quarterfinal. The New Zealander did, however, have an incredible quarterfinal performance last month, qualifying for the Wimbledon elite eight.

At the Australian Open, Noskova advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year, defeating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the process. Noskova has been rising quickly in the rankings ever since winning the Junior Roland Garros championship in 2022.

Two weeks ago, in the Cincinnati Open’s opening round, Noskova and Sun played each other for the first time. Sun won 6-4, 7-6(4). But Noskova turned the tables and won everything in Monterrey this time.