Andreja Klepac u Washingtonu, na koljenima na zadnjim stepenicama

Andreja Klepač and her Japanese partner Makoto Ninomiya fell to Canada’s Erin Routliffe and Indonesia’s Aldili Sutjiadi in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Washington after a one-hour and 12-minute match, with the scoreline reading 6–4, 6–1. The Slovenian player, who is 40 years old, reached the final for the first time since the 2022 Charleston tournament, where she and Poland’s Magda Linette won the title. This marks another milestone in Klepač’s career, having previously reached the final in Washington in 2021. The pair advanced through the tournament by defeating Indonesian Janice Tjen and Chinese Shuai Zhang in the quarterfinals, which had a prize money of 1.4 million euros. In the round of 16, they overcame American Carolyn Ansari and Lea Ma, followed by Italian Saro Errani and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez, who were the reigning champions of the Washington event. Klepač and Ninomiya will now look back on their performance as a solid showing, though they fell just short of claiming the title. In the doubles draw, other notable matches included the pairing of Jessica Pegula (USA) and Diana Shnaider (Russia), as well as Naomi Osaka (Japan) and Alexandra Eala (Philippines). Meanwhile, in men's tennis, French player Arthur Gea made his first final appearance at an ATP event after defeating Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong in straight sets, 7–6 (7), 6–3. He will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who came from behind to defeat fifth seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain in a three-set match, winning 6–3, 5–7, 6–4. Gea, who is 19 years old, has yet to win a tournament on the ATP Tour, but he has climbed to a career-high ranking of 127th in the world. Shapovalov, meanwhile, has already secured four titles and is currently ranked 39th in the world. His victory over Norrie was particularly impressive given that he was the eighth seed entering the tournament. In the men’s singles draw, several high-profile matches took place. Brandon Nakashima (USA) defeated Australian Alex de Minaur (seeded first) in a hard-fought encounter, while Taylor Fritz (third seed) edged out Alex Michelsen in a third-set tiebreak. Rafael Nadal’s compatriot, Spain’s Rafael Jodar, upset fourth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo narrowly beat second-seeded Ben Shelton of the USA in a long and dramatic match. In the women’s singles category, Russian Kristina Ljutova defeated American Caty McNally, while American Elvina Kalieva overcame seventh-seeded Peyton Stearns. Czech Darja Vidmanova recovered from a set down against American Katie Volynets, and Mexican Renata Zarazua dominated Russian Anastasija Zaharova in a dominant display. These results highlight the competitive nature of the tournaments in Memphis and Washington, with players from around the globe showcasing their skills and determination. As the dust settles on these events, fans and analysts will continue to track the progress of rising stars and established names alike, all hoping for more thrilling performances in the upcoming weeks.