Oliwia Zalewska
Oliwia Zalewska, the 26 year-old Polish player, successfully defended her Turkish Open title, defeating Ana Gradisnik (Slovenia) 7-5 in the championship match. It was Zalewska’s fourth Euro Tour title, adding to wins in Italy (2015), Austria and Turkey in 2019.
Hosted by the Venezia Palace Hotel in Antalya, Turkey, Zalewska got off to the worst possible start to the tournament as she lost her opening match against Elise Qiu (France) which relegated her to the loser’s side of the bracket.
She fought hard though, surviving a hill-hill battle with Veronika Ivanovskaia (Germany) before defeating home hope, Eyllul Kibaroglu in another hill-hill tussle to reach the last four. Another 7-6 win, this time over Kamila Khodjaeva saw her through to the final.
Gradisnik, going for her maiden Euro Tour title following three runners-up finishes, ran undefeated through the event, including a hard-fought win over Russia’s Kristina Tkach to reach the final. However, her unbeaten run came to a halt in the final as she lost 7-5 to
the triumphant Oliwia Zalewska.
In addition to the title, the Polish former WPA World Junior Champion leapfrogs Kristina Tkach to take top spot on the Predator Women’s Euro Tour rankings.
Commented the champion, “I am very delighted about this victory. It’s a pleasure to participate in a tournament in such beautiful place. It’s making me more optimistic and maybe it’s the reason why I took the title in Antalya twice!
“It’s my first time to be classified as number one on the European Women’s Ranking. It’s a big success for me for which I have worked for years.
“My family and friends make me believe in myself and I have big support from them. I have big experience in such tournaments too. So, I learn from match to match how to deal with the pressure”, she added.
The Predator Euro Tour Women reconvenes in Italy on the 27th November for the Treviso Open.
All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com
