Akasha Urhobo wins first professional title on USTA Pro Circuit

Qualifier Akasha Urhobo emerged from an all-American semifinal lineup at the USTA Pro Circuit W75 in Zephyrhills, Fla., to claim her first professional title and set herself up for a rise of more than 100 places in the WTA rankings.

The 17-year-old capped the run in her home state with a 6-3, 6-1 final victory against Iva Jovic and claimed the singles trophy with the loss of just two sets across seven matches, including two straight-sets qualifying wins. Urhobo's title triumph comes one month after she reached the semifinals and final at consecutive W35 events on the USTA Pro Circuit in early April, with both of those runs ending in narrow three-set defeats.

The title run will move the Floridian from outside the Top 500 up to the brink of the Top 350 in the WTA rankings. Urhobo reached a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 122 this January, having made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2023 US Open, where she reached the second round as a wild card.

Hanna Chang and Kayla Day rounded out the all-American final four at the Zephyrhills W75, with Chang retiring after losing a 6-4 set to Urhobo in the semis. Former Duke University star Maria Mateas was a quarterfinalist, while Christina Rosca teamed with Lithuania's Justina Mikulskyte to win the doubles crown, beating the American pair of Anna Rogers and Alana Smith, 6-4, 6-4, in Sunday's final.

In addition to the U.S. success on home soil this past week, another three Americans took home titles abroad. Claire Liu won the ITF World Tennis Tour W75 in Saint-Gaudens, France, beating four Frenchwomen on her way to the trophy. She completed her run with a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-0 win against Selena Janicijevic in Sunday's final.