Brazilian Nauhany Silva won her first singles title on the professional tennis circuit this Sunday (12). Naná, as the 15-year-old girl is known, triumphed over Chilean Antonia Vergara, 18, and lifted the ITF W15 trophy in São João da Boa Vista, in the interior of São Paulo.
The São Paulo native, 795th in the women’s ranking, was more consistent than her opponent, 533rd on the list and seeded number three in the competition. She closed the decision with a triumph by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 6/4 and 6/3, in one hour and 31 minutes.
The tournaments organized by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) are below the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) competitions. As it was an ITF W15, the triumph earned Naná 15 points in the ranking – for comparison purposes, also on Sunday, North American Coco Gauff won the WTA 1000 in Wuhan and took 1,000 points.
It was not for the 15 points, however, that Nauhany was very excited about the victory in the interior of São Paulo – she should jump to 772nd place. Even though it is a smaller tournament in the circuit hierarchy, it was a tournament with no age limit, and the triumph was another important step in the trajectory of the young woman, one of the great promises of the sport in Brazil.
“I’m very happy, it feels very good,” said the girl. “It was a difficult week, with tough games, but I think I managed to overcome them all. I put my heart on the court and gave myself. I hope to win more, always evolve and continue gaining experience.”
Naná Silva had already attracted attention last month, during the SP Open, in São Paulo. Invited to the competition – a WTA 250, a tournament second only to the WTA 500, the WTA 1000 and the four Grand Slams –, she surprised by advancing to the second round, showing personality and obtaining her first triumph in a WTA championship.
