Alison Van Uytvanck wins the Astana Open tennis tournament
The Belgian player won the final of the WTA 250 tournament in Kazakhstan. She won her fifth career title on the international circuit against Yulia Putintseva.
This WTA (Women's Tennis Association) calendar tournament was played in early October in the capital of Kazakhstan, better known as Astana although renamed Nur-Sultan by the local authorities in 2019.
The final of this hard court tournament was between Alison Van Uytvanck and Yulia Putintseva, the local star ranked 47th in the world. Although completely dominated in the first set, which she lost 6-1, the Vilvoorde (Province of Flemish Brabant) native was able to find the resources she needed to balance the match in the second set and equalise the score at 6-4. The Belgian proved unstoppable in the final set and achieved her first win after 2 hours 20 minutes against a player who had beaten her four times in their previous meetings.
By winning the Astana Open against the Kazakh, Alison Van Uytvanck (89th in the world at the start of the tournament) climbed several places in the world rankings, after a long interruption following elbow surgery, and should soon be back in the top 50.
On the major women's tennis circuit, the Belgian player now has a fifth title to her name after her wins in Quebec (2017), Budapest (2017 and 2018) and Tashkent (2018).