At the fourth attempt, the German tennis talent Ann Akasha Ceuca celebrated a tournament victory in South Africa. After the German reached the semi-finals at two W15 tournaments in Pretoria and one W15 event in Mbombela in April, the 19-year-old now achieved her second tournament victory on the ITF tour at her second attempt in Mbombela. On the other hand, Valentina Steiner, also 19, had a debut success.
Ann Akasha Ceuca (number 670 in the world rankings), who was seeded second in Mbombela, beat Frenchwoman Dune Vaissaud (number 703 in the world rankings) 7:6 and 6:3 in the final. In the entire tournament, Ceuca only lost a set in the quarterfinals against the 18-year-old Israeli Maayan Laron (number 1009 in the world rankings).
Ceuca got off to a good start and recorded a break in her opponent’s second service game. When the score was 5:4, the German served to win the first set, but had to give up her serve. In the tiebreak, however, the DTB hopeful retained the upper hand.
The second set was similar: This time Ceuca even managed a break on Vaissaud’s first service game, which she couldn’t miss.
German tennis talent wins break festival
Ceuca was previously only able to celebrate a tournament victory in Kayseri (W15) in 2025. Thanks to the second coup of her career, she will be higher than ever in the world rankings next week. Even a place among the best 600 in the world is possible.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Valentina Steiner (number 570 in the world rankings) was able to bag her first tournament victory at ITF level in Reichstett, France.
The German defeated Iva Primorac Pavicic (number 640 in the world rankings) from Croatia in three sets in the final. The first set went to the DTB representative 6:3, her opponent won the second round – then Steiner noticeably turned up the heat and…
Both players had major difficulties with their own serves during the match. Primorac Pavicic made ten double faults, Steiner six. This led to a real break festival (Steiner 10/Primorac Pavicic 6). When Steiner improved significantly on his own serve in the last set, the message was quickly read.
