In a riveting final that stretched for an impressive 2 hours and 51 minutes, No.8 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia secured her third and most significant Hologic WTA Tour title at the Huafa Technology WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. She outmatched No.7 seed Zheng Qinwen with a score of 7-6(11), 7-6(4).
This intense final became the longest tour-level straight-sets match of the season, surpassing the 2-hour and 49-minute battle between Yuan Yue and Marie Bouzkova in the Seoul quarterfinals. Haddad Maia’s triumph marked her first victory above WTA 250 level, her inaugural win on hard courts, and her first since Birmingham 2022. Despite a challenging start to the tournament with a hand injury incurred in a freak shower incident in Guadalajara, she rediscovered her top form and remained unbeaten throughout the week.
The outcome, a first-time encounter between the two competitors, put an end to home favorite Zheng’s impressive eight-match winning streak following her recent triumph in Zhengzhou, where she clinched her first WTA 500 title.
Currently holding the No.19 rank, Haddad Maia is poised to ascend to at least No.11 in the upcoming edition of the WTA Rankings, which will be released after this week’s WTA Finals Cancun. Barring Barbora Krejcikova’s involvement in two matches or her victory as an alternate in Cancun, Haddad Maia is set to return to her career-high ranking of No.10, a position she initially achieved in June after a remarkable run to the Roland Garros semifinals.
