American Bellis Wins First WTA Title

November 28, 2016 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
bELLIS_pIC
Photo credit: HawaiiTennisOpen.com

American teenager CiCi Bellis captured the first WTA title of her young career on Sunday, knocking off top seed Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-2 to win the trophy at the first-ever Hawaii Open.

“This is definitely the best support I’ve ever got at any tournament,” the 17-year old Bellis said. “I was a little nervous at first. Zhang’s done so well this year and had another great week. I want to thank my team, the fans, the tournament—this is the best day of my life.”

Bellis entered the Hawaii Open red-hot, having won back to back titles on the ITF Circuit in the weeks prior, and continued to elevate her game with the competition in Honolulu, winning all five of her matches at this tournament in straight sets.

It started off slowly for Bellis, however, as Zhang broke Bellis in the opening game of the match. But Bellis was undeterred, winning four straight games to open up a 4-1 advantage. From there the match belonged to her, needing just one hour and five minutes to claim the maiden title of her career.

With the win, Bellis moves up 17 spots in the rankings to 75th in the world. She is the only player under 18 ranked inside the top 100. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
USTA NTC
Bethpage

March/April 2024 Digital Edition