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Siniakova drops one game to beat Krueger and win in Osaka, ten years after losing the final
The world No. 1 in doubles won the Japan Open 6-1, 6-0 in 68 minutes for her first singles title since 2023 and the tournament's first Czech champion.
Key points
- Katerina Siniakova beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-0 in 68 minutes in the Osaka final.
- It is her sixth singles title and her first since Nanchang in 2023.
- She lost the Osaka final in 2016 to Christina McHale.
Katerina Siniakova lost just one game on Sunday as she beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-0 in the final of the Japan Open in Osaka, winning a tournament where she had finished runner-up a decade ago.
The 68-minute win gave the Czech her sixth singles title and her first since Nanchang in 2023. She is also the first player from the Czech Republic to win the WTA 250 event. In 2016 she reached the Osaka final and lost to Christina McHale 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Siniakova is far better known for her doubles. She is the world No. 1 in that format and has spent 205 weeks at the top of the doubles rankings, a total bettered only by Martina Navratilova’s 237. In singles she is ranked 86th, and she arrived in Osaka with a losing record of 15 wins and 18 defeats this season.
Her week turned on a series of wins over seeded and experienced opponents. She beat Magda Linette and Mary Stoiana, saw the second seed Peyton Stearns retire during their third set, and then beat the eighth seed Katie Boulter on the way to the final.
Krueger, ranked 55th, had good reason to feel at home. The American won the title in Osaka in 2023 and came into Sunday’s final with a 10-2 career record at the event. She never found a way into the match, and Siniakova now leads their head-to-head 5-0.