Osaka, Japan, October 20, 2024 | Vivien Christie
Kimberly Birrell’s bid to win her first WTA title fell just short in Osaka, but the Queenslander celebrated a series of notable milestones on her way to the finals of the WTA 250 tournament.
In the preliminaries, Birrell won five straight matches to advance to the first WTA semifinals of her career. She advanced to her first tournament final by defeating Japan’s Aoi Ita, winning six straight matches.
All games on Saturday were 150 after rain.DayRanked Birrell put in a gritty performance in Sunday’s rescheduled semifinal against Ita.
From a 1-3 deficit, Birrell won five straight games en route to winning the first set. He came from behind in the second set and won 6-4 6-3 in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1847842174613766654
Birrell was hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Queenslander Sam Stosur, winner of the Osaka title in 2009, 2013 and 2014.
But returning to the court just over an hour later for the final proved too much of an obstacle for the 26-year-old Birrell, who cruised to a 6-0 6-4 victory from Dutchwoman Suzan Lamens.
Nonetheless, Birrell, ranked No. 150 in the world entering the tournament, will take many positives from his best week on tour.
She had earlier wins over Sara Saito, third seed Elise Mertens and Zheng Saisai in her main draw debut in Osaka.
Birrell is expected to rise 39 places to No. 111 in the world when the next rankings are released. This brings her to the top 100, her highest ranking achieved in September last year.
> READ: Train with Kimberly Birrell. “Have fun even if it means challenging your limits.
