Photo: Neena Channan
The singles draw at the Tevlin Challenger has reached the semifinal stage with four players remaining in title contention at the $60,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event being held at the Sobeys Stadium in Toronto until October 30.
One of Saturday’s final four contests will see top-seeded Su Jeong Jang of the Korea Republic take on Polish qualifier Urszula Radwanska. Jang, ranked no. 127 in the world, made quick work of sixth-seeded American Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-3 to reach her fourth semifinal of the season on the ITF World Tennis Tour. The 27-year-old also qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open at the start of the year. As for Radwanska, who is the younger sister of former WTA star Agnieszka Radwanska, she managed to defeat American Robin Montgomery in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-4 on the strength of saving seven of the ten break points she faced on serve. Thanks to Friday’s victory, the former world no. 29 has posted her best result of 2022 with a maiden semifinal appearance.
Tomorrow’s other semifinal match will feature fourth-seeded American Robin Anderson and Eudice Wong Chong of Hong Kong. Anderson, ranked no. 180 in the world, knocked out defending Tevlin Challenger champion Francesca Di Lorenzo 6-4, 6-1 in the quarter-finals and will now make her third final four appearance of the season. Meanwhile, Chong eliminated second-seeded Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden 6-1, 7-6(5) and will play in her eighth semifinal of the year the ITF level and this one in Toronto will be her biggest.
In doubles, Loeb and Aussie Elysia Bolton upset the top-seeded pair of Arianne Hartono and Olivia Tjandramulia 7-6(4), 4-6, 10-3 to reach the final where they will meet Jang and Czech Michaela Bayerlova for the title. Hartono and Tjandramulia were attempting to capture their third consecutive doubles crown in as many weeks after claiming top honours in both Fredericton and Saguenay.
Saturday’s schedule gets underway at 11:00 ET and will feature both singles semifinals followed by the doubles championship match.
A Successful Philpott Girls Leadership Workshop
As part of Tennis Canada’s Women and Girls initiative, the Tevlin Challenger also hosted a leadership workshop on Friday for participants in the Philpott Girls Program. The workshop included a panel of women leaders in sport: Nikki Carnovale, Rachel Gould, Humaira Sedu, and Olivia Ghosh-Swaby.
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The main goal was to amplify the power of women and girls with discussions about the different opportunities provided by an involvement in tennis, challenges faced and how to overcome them, the importance of female leadership in sport, the strength of each individual voice, mental health, and much more. In addition to the workshop, the girls were provided with a tour of the stadium and reserved seats to watch the tournament matches.
Philpott provides free tennis to children in underserved communities of Toronto, and the Girls Program provides tennis as well as leadership training to girls aged between 16-25 who aspire to give back and become certified tennis instructors.
