Daria Kasatkina won the St. Petersburg Open title on Sunday. The 23-year-old’s opponent, fellow Russian, Margarita Gasparyan was forced to call a halt to the proceedings with an injury to her lower back. Kasatkina, who was seeded eighth in the draw, was leading 6-3, 2-1 when the match was stopped.
This is Kasatkina’s fourth career title and comes over two years after her last career title – also in Russia, at the 2018 Moscow Open. Incidentally, while that win propelled Kasatkina inside the top-10 of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career, this win will mark her re-entry into the top-50 after the slump she’d had to face post her 2018 highs.
On Monday, 22nd March, when the rankings were updated, Kasatkina climbed 19 spots to 42nd place. Meanwhile, her opponent, Gasparyan, who had been struggling with injuries, will also re-enter the top-100 following her maiden final in St. Petersburg.
Gasparyan is now ranked 88th in the world, gaining 38 places in the ranking.
