OREANDA-NEWS   Russia’s Anna Blinkova earned a maiden WTA Tour singles title as she overcame Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the final of the Transylvania Open in Romania on Sunday.

Blinkova prevailed in a three-set tussle against her higher-ranked opponent, emerging with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 victory in a contest spanning one hour and 41 minutes.

The title is a first for Blinkova in a singles event at WTA level and came after the 24-year-old had progressed through qualifying at the hard-court showpiece in Cluj-Napoca.

“I’m feeling so good, and I cannot even describe my emotions because I just finished a very tough match,” said Blinkova afterwards, having posed with a man in ‘Dracula’ costume in keeping with the location of the tournament.

“Actually, all the matches were very tough, and I’m extremely happy to be able to go through all the challenges and stay mentally strong and mentally stable.”

The result meant Blinkova surged back into the top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time this year as she moved up to the number 79 spot in the updated rankings on Monday – rising by 59 places.

The Moscow-born player boasts a career-best rating of world number 54, which she achieved in February 2020.

Blinkova also became Russia’s fifth different WTA women’s singles title winner of 2022, after previous successes for Daria Kasatkina, Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Liudmila Samsonova.

Elsewhere in the updated women’s rankings, Kasatkina remained in the number 11 spot, one place ahead of compatriot Veronika Kudermetova.

Russia’s Alexandrova rose one place to world number 19 on Monday, with Samsonova also improving one place to number 22.

Russian number one Kasatkina remains in the running for a place at the season-ending WTA Finals in Forth Worth, Texas, later this month.

The 25-year-old is seventh in the race for the event, with eight places up for grabs.

Countrywoman Alexandrova is just outside contention at number nine in the race.

Meanwhile, Poland’s Iga Swiatek continues to dominate the WTA rankings and is way out in front as world number one with 10,355 points – more than double the tally of nearest challenger Ons Jabeur.

Swiatek, 21, won her eighth title of the season with victory at the San Diego Open on Sunday.