2020 Palermo

Palermo 2020: Story of the tournament

From Italian home success to a slate of second-round comebacks, the best images from the 31st Palermo Ladies Open as the WTA Tour gets back underway.

01 /53
Tennis's new normal got under way with No.1 seed Petra Martic taking part in a virtual All Access Hour.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

02 /53
Ahead of the tournament's start, No.3 seed Maria Sakkari sweeps her own court during practice.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

03 /53
Kirsten Flipkens takes a mandatory temperature check before practice in line with the WTA Tour's COVID-19 protocol as compatriot Alison Van Uytvanck looks on.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

04 /53
Former US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer roared back from a first-set whitewash, overcoming Barbara Haas 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of qualifying.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

05 /53
18-year-old Marta Kostyuk got off to a strong start, dispatching Daniela Seguel in straight sets to kick off her qualifying campaign.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

06 /53
Ysaline Bonaventure pulled off the greatest escape of the qualifying rounds, saving three match points before moving past Indy De Vroome 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-2 in the first round.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

07 /53
Italy's Martina Trevisan pulled off an upset on home soil, routing No.1 qualifying seed Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 in the second preliminary round.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

08 /53
No.2 qualifying seed Aliona Bolsova needed to come from a set down to quell 17-year-old wildcard Melania Delai in the first round of qualifying, and found herself in trouble against Laura Ioana Paar in the second round.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

09 /53
Laura Ioana Paar came from a set and a break down to overhaul Aliona Bolsova in a second-round qualifying marathon 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

10 /53
Marta Kostyuk protests a call during her late-night second-round qualifying loss to Liudmila Samsonova.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

11 /53
Russia's Liudmila Samsonova, who grew up in Italy and reached her first WTA semifinal in Palermo last year, qualified for the main draw via a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Marta Kostyuk and 6-2, 7-6(9) win over Laura Ioana Paar.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

12 /53
Donna Vekic was the first main draw winner as the WTA Tour returned. The No.6 seed took 77 minutes to overcome Arantxa Rus, 6-1, 6-2.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

13 /53
Arantxa Rus congratulates Donna Vekic with a racquet tap at the net instead of a handshake, set to become a familiar sight in the weeks ahead.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

14 /53
Fast-rising Italian 19-year-old wildcard Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open this year, captured her first WTA main draw win on home soil with a 7-6(1), 6-3 defeat of Polona Hercog.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

15 /53
Former World No.30 Aliaksandra Sasnovich did not drop a set throughout qualifying, edging Lara Arruabarrena 7-5, 7-6(2) in the final round.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

16 /53
Kaja Juvan displayed clutch battling qualities to navigate through qualifying, coming from a set down against Magdalena Frech and Elena-Gabriela Ruse before saving three set points en route to a 7-6(8), 6-1 final-round defeat of Martina Trevisan.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

17 /53
Shenzhen champion Ekaterina Alexandrova lost the first set to Kristina Mladenovic before the No.8 seed fought back to progress, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

18 /53
Adelaide runner-up and No.7 seed Dayana Yastremska regained focus to overturn a 0-4 second-set deficit against Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round, eventually coming through 6-3, 6-4.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

19 /53
Home favorite and two-time former Palermo champion Sara Errani took nearly three hours to overcome Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in the first classic contest of the resumption.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

20 /53
Following Sara Errani's epic, Jasmine Paolini posted a second straight inspired Italian battle on Centre Court on Day 1, surviving 16 deuce games and 21 breaks of serve to upset Daria Kasatkina 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

21 /53
Jasmine Paolini celebrates her three-hour, nine-minute late-night win over Daria Kasatkina - her second victory in four meetings over the Russian, and the second-longest match of 2020 so far.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

22 /53
Kristyna Pliskova was the architect of the biggest upset of the day as she claimed a 6-4, 6-4, win over No.3 seed Maria Sakkari.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

23 /53
Kristyna Pliskova and Maria Sakkari tapped racquets after 1am local time to signal the end of Monday’s play.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

24 /53
Resurgent Frenchwoman Oceane Dodin, a quarterfinalist in St. Petersburg and Lyon before the Tour pause, fell to Nadia Podoroska in the final qualifying round - but, entering the main draw as a lucky loser, upset Tamara Zidansek 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in round one.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

25 /53
Roland Garros finalist and No.2 seed Marketa Vondrousova got off to a fine start against qualifier Kaja Juvan in the first round, dictating the first set with heavy topspin forehands and perfect dropshots.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

26 /53
However, Juvan's battling qualities and tactical adjustments have been key to the Slovenian's success this week, and the 19-year-old fought back for her first Top 20 win 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 over Vondrousova.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

27 /53
Aliaksandra Sasnovich continued the pattern of qualifiers' success against seeds, extending her head-to-head lead over No.5 seed Elise Mertens to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-1 first-round win.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

28 /53
Top seed Petra Martic showed few signs of rust as she opened her campaign with an impressive 6-0, 6-3 victory over former Roland Garros quarterfinalist Alison Van Uytvanck.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

29 /53
Camila Giorgi made it four Italian wins out of four in the first round, powering past Rebecca Peterson in straight sets.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

30 /53
No.4 seed Anett Kontaveit restored order after Day 2's series of upsets in the final match on the schedule, erasing a 0-3 second-set deficit to move past Hua Hin semifinalist Patricia Maria Tig 6-3, 6-3.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

31 /53
Fiona Ferro, who won her maiden title just over a year ago in Lausanne, reached her second straight Palermo quarterfinal with a 7-5, 6-2 upset of No.8 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

32 /53
WTA power couple Alison Van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen celebrate their doubles quarterfinal upset of No.3 seeds Laura Siegemund and Yanina Wickmayer with a hug.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

33 /53
Jasmine Paolini winds up for a forehand during her second-round clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

34 /53
Aliaksandra Sasnovich conceded just two games to Jasmine Paolini to reach her first main tour quarterfinal since Sydney 2019.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

35 /53
Former World No.5 Sara Errani lost the first 13 points of her second-round contest against Kristyna Pliskova, but mounted a comeback to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach her first quarterfinal since Bogota last year.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

36 /53
Teenager Elisabetta Cocciaretto continued to thrive on home soil, backing up her maiden WTA main draw win with her first Top 30 victory in the second round, upsetting No.6 seed Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-4.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

37 /53
Liudmila Samsonova's powerful striking enabled the Russian qualifier to take a set lead over top seed Petra Martic in the second round.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

38 /53
However, Martic rebounded in style to quell Samsonova's surge 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 and move into her second quarterfinal of the year.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

39 /53
Anett Kontaveit, fresh off leading Estonia to victory over Latvia in the Merko Cup exhibition event, also needed to recover from a set down before overcoming Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open

40 /53
Continuing Thursday's pattern, Camila Giorgi also came from a set down to beat Kaja Juvan, joining compatriots Sara Errani and Elisabetta Cocciaretto to make it three Italians in a WTA quarterfinal lineup for the first time since Hobart 2015.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

41 /53
Dayana Yastremska posted the only straight-sets win of Thursday over Oceane Dodin, finishing her 6-2, 6-4 victory after 1am to seal her second quarterfinal place of the year.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

42 /53
Petra Martic on the stretch in her quarterfinal encounter with Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

43 /53
Sasnovich fashioned six break points in the opening set but was only able to covert one and lost out on a tiebreak to the top seed.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

44 /53
The second set was equally tight, but again it was Martic who prevailed to reach the final four.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

45 /53
Anett Kontaveit secured a place in the semifinal against Martic after she overcame Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
46 /53
Fiona Ferro's fine Palermo run continued as she ousted home favorite Sara Errani in straight sets to reach the semis.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

47 /53
Errani lost out in 90 minutes as Ferro dominated her service games.

Photo by Jimmie48/WTA

48 /53
Petra Martic suffered a shock at the hands of Anett Kontaveit.

Photo by Tournament

49 /53
The Estonian beat her 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinal.

Photo by Tournament

50 /53
Kontaveit set up a clash with Fiona Ferro in the final.

Photo by Tournament

51 /53
The Frenchwoman reached her second career WTA final by beating home favorite Camila Giorgi 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Photo by Tournament

52 /53
Anett Kontaveit sends down a serve in the final against Fiona Ferro.

Photo by Getty Images

53 /53
Ferro would triumph 6-2, 7-5 in 105 minutes, twice fighting back from a break down in the second set to take the win.

Photo by Getty Images

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