Siniakova crushes Krueger to become the first Czech champion in Osaka, ten years after losing the final

Katerina Siniakova became the first Czech player to win the Osaka WTA 250 on Sunday, ten years after losing the final, when she beat Ashlyn Krueger of the United States 6-1, 6-0 in 68 minutes.

The title is the sixth of her singles career and her first since Nanchang in 2023. She finished runner-up here in 2016, losing to Christina McHale 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. On her return, the 30-year-old dropped one game in the final and improved to 5-0 against Krueger.

Siniakova, ranked No. 86 in singles, is the world No. 1 in doubles. She has spent 205 weeks at the top of the doubles rankings, second only to Martina Navratilova (237).

Her singles season had been a modest one: she arrived in Osaka with a 15-18 record. This week she beat No. 2 seed Peyton Stearns of the United States, who retired at 6-4, 0-6, 4-0 down, then Magda Linette of Poland 6-4, 6-1, American qualifier Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-2 and Britain’s Katie Boulter, the No. 8 seed, 6-1, 6-4.

Krueger, ranked No. 55, was trying to win the title for a second time. She won her first WTA title here in 2023, beating Zhu Lin 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the final, and arrived for the final with a 10-2 career record at the event.