Emiliana Arango of Colombia captured the biggest title of her career on Saturday night, defeating Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-2, 6-1 to win the inaugural WTA 125 Cancun Tennis Open in Mexico.
In a final showdown between unseeded 24-year-olds, it was Arango who hoisted the trophy after 90 minutes of action on the hard courts of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The title will be a PIF WTA Rankings boost to Arango, who is currently placed No. 169. The Colombian nearly cracked the Top 100 in 2023, peaking at No. 109 not long after she reached a WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Guadalajara.
Arango started her week in Cancun with three straight-sets wins, but she was nearly upended in the semifinals by No. 8 seed Francesca Jones of Great Britain. In that match, Arango survived three match points down 5-4 in the third set, eking it out 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
After that narrow escape, Arango took charge early in the first set of Saturday's final, coming out on top in a number of lengthy rallies against World No. 272 Branstine.
Branstine, playing in her biggest career final after a breakthrough week of her own, took a medical time-out after she sunk to her knees following the first game of the second set.
The qualifier battled to the end and averted a bagel with a service break in the penultimate game. But Arango held firm, closing out her first championship point by wrapping up another all-court rally with a deft lob winner.
Branstine was a perfect 3-for-3 on break points in the final, but the Canadian was unable to hold serve as Arango gritted out every one of her return games. The Colombian finished the clash 8-for-17 on break points.
Earlier on Saturday, Australian teenagers Maya Joint and Taylah Preston won the Cancun doubles title. They defeated the all-Spanish duo of Aliona Bolsova and Yvonne Cavallé-Reimers 6-4, 6-3 in the 78-minute final.
Both 18-year-old Joint and 19-year-old Preston reached WTA 125 finals in singles last year, but this was the first WTA 125 final and title in doubles for each of them.
