Lithuania’s Justina Mikulskyte was crowned singles champion at the Tumakuru Open ITF W35 tournament after Poland’s Zuzanna Pawlikowska was forced to retire due to injury during the final in Karnataka on Sunday.
The highly anticipated title clash between the tournament’s top two seeds ended prematurely after Pawlikowska, who had been struggling with a shoulder injury throughout the closing stages of the tournament, could not continue after the opening game.
Despite her injury concerns, the Polish player had shown remarkable determination by taking the court for the singles final after already withdrawing from the doubles final a day earlier because of the same shoulder problem. However, the discomfort proved too severe, bringing an unfortunate end to the contest at the Tumakuru District Tennis Association courts.
The title marked the eighth ITF singles crown of Mikulskyte’s career and continued an impressive season for the Lithuanian on the international circuit. She received USD 4,860 in prize money along with 35 valuable WTA ranking points for winning the tournament.
Pawlikowska, who finished runner-up, earned USD 2,637 and 23 WTA ranking points despite her injury setback.
The Tumakuru Open witnessed several strong performances from Indian players as well. Vaidehee Chaudhari and Zeel Desai made deep runs into the semifinals, underlining India’s growing presence on the ITF women’s circuit.
Earlier in the tournament, Mikulskyte had battled through tough matches, including a dramatic comeback victory over Poland’s Zuzanna Kolonus after losing the opening set 0-6.
The ITF W35 Tumakuru event, played on outdoor hard courts, attracted several emerging international and Indian talents and served as an important stop on the women’s professional tennis circuit in India.
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