Tararudee stuns Andreescu to make history as first Thai woman in the top 100

Lanlana Tararudee arrived in the Austin WTA 125 through qualifying. She left as a champion. The 21-year-old Thai, ranked No. 124 coming into the week, defeated former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Saturday to claim the biggest title of her career and become the first Thai woman to break into the world’s top 100 since Luksika Kumkhum. The victory, played out over one hour and 55 minutes, was as composed as it was historic.

Tararudee had to earn every inch of it. Coming through qualifying without dropping a serve, she swept aside Dalma Galfi, Caty McNally and Anastasia Zakharova before dispatching Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 7-6(4) in the semifinals. By the time she reached the final, she had the look of a player who belonged there.

Andreescu, for her part, was no soft touch. The 25-year-old Canadian had been one of the stories of the week in her own right – fighting through three consecutive three-set matches, including a gutsy 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 semifinal win over Paula Badosa – in what was her biggest final since losing to Liudmila Samsonova in the Netherlands in June 2024. For a player whose career has been interrupted repeatedly by injury, reaching a final of any kind carried meaning.

Tararudee now in the Top 100

But Saturday belonged to the qualifier. Tararudee took the first set with clean, efficient tennis, mixing a 60% first-serve win rate with tactical precision that unsettled Andreescu’s timing. The Canadian rallied sharply to level at one set apiece, finding the rhythm that had carried her through the week. In the decider, however, it was Tararudee who steadied. She broke twice as Andreescu’s legs began to show the fatigue of a grueling week, and closed out the match with the same composure she had displayed throughout.

It was a week that illustrated everything about Tararudee’s game – consistent, varied enough to dismantle both power hitters and defensive specialists, and driven by a mental resolve that has rapidly made her the most compelling figure in Southeast Asian tennis.

She made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2026 Australian Open, qualifying through three matches without dropping a set, and claimed her sixth career ITF singles title along the way to this breakthrough. She had previously reached a WTA 125 final in Porto in 2025.

For Andreescu, the loss stings but the week was not without value. Her victories here signal a genuine return to form after a long spell on the margins, and the ranking points will push her back into direct entry range for the bigger events that define careers like hers.

The tour moves to Miami next week. Tararudee moves there as a top-100 player for the first time.