Russian Maria Timofeeva and Chinese Qinwen Zheng won their first WTA titles after winning the 250 category in Budapest and Palermo, respectively.

Maria TimofeevaPhoto: Vinny Orlando/IPA Sport/ipa-ag/Editorial Shutterstock/Profimedia

Maria Timofeeva, WTA Budapest champion

Initially eliminated in the second round of qualifying, Timofeeva (246 WTA) entered the main draw as a lucky loser and had a dream week in Budapest.

In the grand final, the 19-year-old Russian defeated Kateryna Bindl (100 WTA) with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.

Maria also eliminated Daria Saville (222 WTA), Diana Schneider (110 WTA), Kaya Yuvan (169 WTA) and Nadiya Podoroska (80 WTA) during the competition in Hungary.

Thanks to the trip from Budapest, the athlete from Russia will rise to the 129th place in the WTA ranking (a jump of 117 positions – the best ranking in her career).

Qinwen Zheng won the WTA tournament in Palermo

World No. 26 Zheng (the No. 2 favorite) took two-and-a-quarter hours to beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini (WTA No. 52) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

Qinwen also beat Sarah Errani (112 WTA, 6-0, 6-0), Diane Parry (82 WTA), Emma Navarro (57 WTA) and Mayar Sherif (38 WTA) in Italy.