Sherif wins first WTA title in four years after Badosa retires in Iasi final

Egypt's Mayar Sherif won the second WTA Tour singles title of her career after Paula Badosa retired during the second set of the Unicredit Iasi Open final in Iasi, Romania.

The match, carried over from Sunday because of rain, began with both players breaking serve twice in the opening six games. Sherif earned the decisive break in the seventh game and held for a 5-3 lead before serving out the opening set 6-4. In the second set, Sherif broke Badosa twice to open a 4-0 lead before the Spaniard retired after one hour, 12 minutes.

The title is Sherif's second and comes four years after she won her first title on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz in Parma in 2022, also on clay. She also extended her winning streak on clay to 15 matches after claiming WTA 125 titles in Brescia and Contrexeville and improves her head-to-head record against the Spaniard to 2-1.

Badosa entered the final on a nine-match winning streak of her own after winning the WTA 125 title in Bastad and reaching the final in Iasi. It marked the first time the former world No. 2 finished runner-up in a WTA singles final after winning her first four tour-level finals.

Both players made significant moves in this week's rankings. Sherif climbed 24 places to No. 73, while Badosa rose 22 spots to No. 93.