Mertens wins the 9th tournament of her career in Singapore

It was time for the final of the WTA 250 tournament in Singapore. Pre-match favorite on paper, Elise Mertens, seeded No.2, faced Ann Li, the American player who had outwitted the odds throughout the week.

The latter was hoping to win her first title since her victory in Tenerife four years ago.

The Belgian, for her part, has already won eight WTA titles. However, her last trophy came at Monastir in 2023, and the world No. 30 has lost her last two finals on the main circuit, at the last two editions of the Hobart tournament.

This will be the second final in 2025 for the 29-year-old, who is determined not to let her chance slip through her fingers.

For their first career meeting, both players wanted to get off to the best possible start, but in this little game, experience got the better of them. Mertens quickly wrapped up the first set.

More solid on her face-offs (4 break points saved out of 5), the 2018 Australian Open semi-finalist broke her opponent in two sets (6-1, 6-4) and put an end to her drought.

Mertens has a more than decent ratio in the finals she has contested, with 9 successes in 15 finals since her WTA debut, a 60% success rate at this level of competition.

As for Li, she'll still have to wait for the second title of her career. She has now won one and lost three finals on the main circuit.