MARIGOT—French player Irina Ramialison won the women’s Singles tennis final on Sunday at the Alberic Richard’s Stadium courts to bring the 7th International Women’s Tennis Tournament to a close.
The event was organised by Tennis Club Ile de St. Martin (TCISM) and offered $10,000 in prize money and gifts.
The diminutive Ramialison despite her size was a firecracker on the number one court, dispatching the Netherland’s 531-ranked Kelly Versteeg 6-1, 6-0.
Winning in St. Martin concluded a successful campaign in the French Antilles for Ramialison who was the top seed in St. Martin and is ranked 327 in the world.
She entered the tournament on the back of winning the tournament in Martinique a week earlier and was a quarter finalist in Guadeloupe.
“My goal is earn another 100 points so I can participate in the qualifiers for Roland Garros,” Ramialison said earlier in the tournament.
The Doubles final was won by the American pair Emina Bektas and Alexa Bortles who beat Israel’s Keren Shlomo (ISR) and USA’s Alexandra Morozova 6-4, 6-2.
Complete results are available on the website www.itf-tennis.com
International referee Stéphane Apostolou who returned to officiate at the tournament after a year’s absence noted the draw of players was even better than in previous years.
“I think it’s the best from the last five years,” he suggested. “The level is pretty even and we’ve had some very good matches during the week. The players come here to earn ranking points, not so much for the prize money. With higher ranking points they can access the bigger 25 or $50,000 tournaments.”
Apostolou said he always enjoys coming to the tournament in St. Martin but hinted he may soon be working for the Davis Cup. But first he will be in Monaco for the Rolex Masters in April.
“St. Martin is a beautiful island and the tennis club here and those who work here are very pleasant, especially Osé Saint Louis Gabriel who welcomes everyone, officials and players, and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
“I received a lot of compliments this week about the nice atmosphere. For the players it’s tough with the travelling, three weeks in a row, but they say this tournament is the best one of the three in the Antilles, for many things, the relaxed atmosphere and the kindness of everyone.”
The tennis club next hosts the 13th M&M’s tournament on February 8-12 open to children 6-8 years old. Today Wednesday is the last day of registration.
