American tennis star Emma Navarro dominated her compatriot Ann Li with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory on Friday, securing her spot in the championship match of the Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament in France, where she’ll face top-seeded Victoria Mboko.
The American player demonstrated exceptional defensive skills by saving seven out of eight break point opportunities while capitalizing on five of her eight break point chances, wrapping up the WTA 500 clay-court semifinal match in just 77 minutes. Navarro is now pursuing her third professional title and her first victory since capturing the Merida Open championship in Mexico this past March 2025.
Mboko required nearly three hours to secure her finals berth, defeating Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian in a grueling 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 battle that lasted two hours and 52 minutes. The 19-year-old Canadian player mounted an impressive comeback after trailing 4-1 and 5-2 in the first set. She’s also chasing her third professional title and first victory since winning the Hong Kong Open last November.
Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
In Morocco’s capital city of Rabat, sixth-seeded Croatian player Petra Marcinko will square off against unseeded Ukrainian competitor Anhelina Kalinina in Saturday’s final of this tournament.
Marcinko advanced by defeating Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann with scores of 7-6 (2), 6-3 in their semifinal clash at this WTA 250 clay-court event. The Croatian player dominated her service game, winning 83.3% of first-serve points (30 out of 36), delivering four aces and successfully converting five of ten break point opportunities during the match that lasted one hour and 45 minutes.
Kalinina will be pursuing her first-ever WTA Tour championship after recording an impressive 6-0, 6-3 triumph in just 60 minutes against Hungary’s seventh-seeded Panna Udvardy. The Ukrainian player never allowed her opponent a single break point opportunity while successfully converting five of her eight break point chances.
