Weronika Ewald wins ITF W35 title in Liberec, her biggest career success

In brief

• Weronika Ewald, 20, won the ITF W35 tournament in Liberec, Czech Republic.
• Julia Stusek retired at 0:1 in the second set after Ewald won the first 6:2.
• The title is Ewald's biggest in her career and lifts her about 29 places to No. 373 in the WTA rankings.

Final ends early in Liberec

Weronika Ewald took the opening set 6:2 against Germany's Julia Stusek, the eighth seed, before the match was stopped early. Stusek retired after the first game of the second set, with the score at 0:1, handing Ewald the trophy (Polska tenisistka wygrała turniej! To jej największy tytuł w karierze – www.polsatsport.pl) (ITF. Weronika Ewald najlepsza w Libercu – tenisklub.pl).

Path to the final

Ewald dropped only two games in her opening match against Germany's Ida Wobker. She then beat France's Manon Leonard, who retired at 5:0 in the first set, Czech player Denisa Zoldakova 7:6, 6:4, and Croatia's Lea Boskovic (Tydzień marzeń Polki. Odniosła życiowy sukces – SportoweFakty).

Week after Malta final

The result follows a strong week in Malta, where Ewald reached the final of an ITF W35 event in Marsa and lost to Greece's Valentini Grammatikopoulou. Ewald had previously won two ITF W15 titles, so the Liberec win is her biggest title to date.

Ranking gain

Before the Liberec tournament, Stusek was ranked about 30 places above Ewald. Ewald is set to rise 29 places to No. 373 in the WTA rankings after the win.