WTA 125 roundup: Minnen, Todoni, and Bejlek take home titles
While the French Open came to its conclusion this past week, three WTA 125 titles (two on clay and one on grass) were decided. Greet Minnen, Sara Bejlek and Anca Todoni were all crowned WTA 125 singles champions on Sunday.
Here's a roundup of the three tournaments:
Lexus Birmingham Open - Birmingham, Great Britain
No. 5 seed Greet Minnen of Belgium won the WTA 125 kick-off to this year's grass-court season in Birmingham, and she had to complete two matches on Sunday to do so.
Minnen's semifinal match against Rebeka Masarova was suspended overnight on Saturday at 4-3 in the first set, and the Belgian came back on Sunday to finish that match 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5). Minnen saved one match point in the second-set tiebreak before squeaking out that win.
Shortly after that narrow victory, Minnen had a much quicker time in the final, where she defeated Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes. It is Minnen's first WTA 125 singles title out of three finals.
"It's been a wonderful moment, you know," Minnen said while accepting the trophy. "It hasn't been easy the last few years, I didn't play a lot of finals. To be here, to win a final on the grass, it's the best I could hope for, honestly."
Minnen moves from No. 77 to No. 66 in Monday's updated PIF WTA Singles Rankings, nearing a new career-high ranking. The 27-year-old peaked at No. 59 in 2023.
The Birmingham doubles champions were determined on Friday. Destanee Aiava of Australia and Cristina Bucsa of Spain took the title, defeating Britain's Alicia Barnett and France's Elixane Lechemia 6-4, 6-2.
Open delle Puglie - Bari, Italy
Anca Todoni continued to be a dominant force on the WTA 125 clay-court circuit, successfully defending her title in Bari. The No. 4 seed from Romania defeated No. 3 seed Anna Bondar of Hungary 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
Todoni is a perfect 4-0 in WTA 125 singles finals. The rising 20-year-old won her first WTA 125 title at this event last year, and added further WTA 125 clay-court crowns at 2024 Santa Cruz and 2025 Antalya #1.
Todoni didn't drop a set en route to the final, but the Romanian had to battle for 2 hours and 55 minutes before outlasting Bondar on Sunday. Bondar has also had success at clay-court WTA 125s, having won titles at 2021 Buenos Aires and 2024 Hamburg.
The Bari doubles final took place on Saturday, where unseeded Maria Kozyreva and Iryna Shymanovich upset No. 1 seeds Quinn Gleason and Ingrid Martins 3-6, 6-4, [10-7] to claim the title.
Makarska Open - Makarska, Croatia
Another clay-court WTA 125 champion was crowned on Sunday when Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic defeated Andorra's Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-0, 6-1 in the Makarska Open final.
Both 19-year-olds have posted solid pro results after successful junior careers, but Bejlek's clay-court prowess won out over Jimenez Kasintseva in Sunday's 56-minute final.
Bejlek notched a come-from-behind semifinal win over No. 1 seed Maya Joint on Saturday before easing through the final. It is Bejlek's second WTA 125 title -- she previously won on the clay of Colina, Chile in 2023.
Bejlek zooms up from No. 188 to No. 120 in the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday -- a jump bolstered by her Roland Garros second-round showing as a qualifier, where she upset No. 26 seed Marta Kostyuk.
Saturday's doubles final was won by No. 2 seeds Jesika Maleckova and Miriam Skoch, meaning Czechs swept the titles in Makarska. They defeated No. 1 seeds Oksana Kalashnikova and Elena Pridankina 2-6, 6-3, [10-4].