Malta’s Francesca Curmi wins ITF tournament in Tunisia

Malta’s young tennis sensation Francesca Curmi created history on Sunday when she managed to win the ITF Women’s Tour tournament in Monastir, Tunisia.

Curmi was in hot form on Sunday when she brushed aside fifth seed Yao Xinxin, of China, 6-2 6-4 to secure the title.

In a statement, the Malta Tennis Federation said: “This is a truly remarkable achievement as this is the first time a Maltese tennis player has managed to win such a high-level event at professional level. Congratulations from all tennis and sporting fans are in order.”

Curmi enjoyed an impressive week of competition in Tunisia this week.

In the first round, the Maltese player found little difficulty to progress to the next stage when she brushed aside Brazilian player Ana Candiotto 6-2 6-1.

Curmi recorded another straight sets win in the second round when she had the better of German player Mia Mack 7-5 6-0.

In the quarter-finals, Curmi was handed a tough test when she was up against Fernanda Labrana, of Chile.

The Maltese player had to come from a set down before prevailing in three sets for a 4-6 6-4 6-3 scoreline.

Next up for Curmi was French girl Astrid Cirotte in the semi-finals and the Maltese player broke little sweat on her way to a 6-1 6-3 victory to proceed to the final.

No doubt, this result will be a huge injection of confidence for Curmi who is stepping up her preparations for next year’s Games of the Small States of Europe that will be held in Malta.