Miriam Bulgaru and Jil Teichmann were the champions at last week's clay-court WTA 125 events, with both players shooting up the PIF WTA Singles Rankings as a result.
Romania's Bulgaru won the Tiriac Foundation Trophy title in her nation's capital of Bucharest on Sunday. She was joined by two of her country's sporting luminaries in the trophy ceremony: former WTA World No.1 Simona Halep and Olympic gymnastics champion Nadia Comaneci.
Bulgaru outlasted Kathinka von Deichmann of Liechtenstein 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in a 2-hour and 4-minute final. Bulgaru won nearly half of her first-service return points en route to the narrow victory on her home soil.
With her first career WTA 125 title under her belt, 25-year-old Bulgaru rises from No.202 to a new career-high ranking of No.178 in Monday's updated singles rankings. Bulgaru set her previous career-high ranking of No.183 one year ago.
Saturday's doubles final at the Tiriac Foundation Trophy was won by Carole Monnet and Darja Semenistaja, who squeaked past Aliona Bolsova and Katarzyna Kawa 1-6, 6-2, [10-7] in 64 minutes. It is the first WTA 125 doubles title for Monnet, and the second for Semenistaja.
Meanwhile, at the Zavarovalnica Sava Ljubljana in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Teichmann of Switzerland took home that WTA 125 title with a 7-6(8), 6-4 victory over No.2 seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain on Sunday.
Teichmann was twice down a break in the first set, at 3-0 and 6-5, and she needed four set points in the tiebreak before taking the one-set lead. Teichmann then needed 10 break points in the opening game of the second set before earning that break on the way to victory.
All told, 27-year-old Teichmann won the 2-hour and 18-minute final to claim her second career WTA 125 title and rise from No.182 to No.145 in Monday's new rankings. Teichmann has been ranked as high as World No.21 and she won two WTA 250 titles in 2019.
Teichmann returned to court for the doubles final on Sunday, but she fell just short of pulling off the sweep. Nuria Brancaccio and Leyre Romero Gormaz edged past Lina Gjorcheska and Teichmann 5-7, 7-5, [10-7] and clinched the Ljubljana doubles title.
Gjorcheska and Teichmann held a championship point at deciding point at 5-4 in the second set, but Brancaccio and Romero Gormaz survived that peril on their way to their first career WTA 125 doubles title.
