Tomljanovic battles past Tauson to claim WTA 125 Hong Kong title

Ajla Tomljanovic is in the winner's circle once again after taking home the singles title at the inaugural WTA 125 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis event.

Tomljanovic of Australia overcame No.6 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final. Tomljanovic needed 2 hours and 27 minutes to hold off Tauson in a big-hitting battle, and the Aussie now leads their head-to-head 2-1.

This was the first of two tournaments Hong Kong will host this month. Two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.2 Li Na will serve as the tournament director of the WTA 250 Hong Kong Tennis Open, which begins on Oct. 28.

Tomljanovic triumph:  Tomljanovic, who has reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals (Wimbledon 2021 and 2022, and the 2022 US Open) missed eight months of play in 2023 due to injury.

However, since her return to tour 12 months ago, the former World No.32 has won her first two WTA 125 titles and now finds herself on the brink of a Top 100 return. She also hoisted the WTA 125 trophy in Florianopolis last November.

Currently ranked No.107, Tomljanovic builds on her solid grass-court season from this summer, where she won eight of 11 matches and reached her fifth WTA singles final in Birmingham.

In Sunday's Hong Kong final, 31-year-old Tomljanovic had to battle back from a set down while withstanding 12 aces from 21-year-old Tauson.

The combatants had similar success rates behind their first and second serves as well their returns, and they each held five break points in the clash.

The match ultimately came down to one extra break for Tomljanovic, which occurred at 3-3 in the third set. The Aussie was never broken in the deciding frame as she closed out her latest WTA 125 crown.

The final was a closely-contested conclusion to the very first Prudential Hong Kong Tennis 125. The tournament also featured appearances by former World No.1 Simona Halep and current Top 10 player Emma Navarro, who received wild cards.

Both Halep and Navarro were defeated by No.7 seed Anna Blinkova, in the second round and quarterfinals respectively. The win over Navarro was Blinkova's third Top 10 win of the year, but she ultimately fell to eventual champion Tomljanovic in a three-set semifinal.

Doubles thriller: The all-Romanian pairing of Monica Niculescu and Elena-Gabriela Ruse claimed the doubles title at the tournament. Niculescu and Ruse outlasted the Japanese duo of Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya 6-3, 5-7, [10-5] in Sunday's doubles final.

From a 5-5 deadlock in the decisive match-tiebreak, Niculescu and Ruse swept the next five points to close out the victory after 1 hour and 54 minutes of play.

It is Niculescu's third career WTA 125 doubles title, and the first WTA 125 doubles title for Ruse. Niculescu is already a 12-time doubles champion at Hologic WTA Tour-level, while this week marks Ruse's biggest career doubles title.