Rakotomanga continues her journey and will play in the semifinals of the WTA 250 in São Paulo

Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, 19 years old, made a strong impression at the WTA 250 in São Paulo by reaching her first semifinal on the WTA tour. After a difficult first round, she showed remarkable resilience throughout the week and will face Renata Zarazua for a spot in the final.

French tennis is shining this week. While Elsa Jacquemot will compete in the semifinals of the WTA 500 in Guadalajara and France leads 2-0 against Croatia in the Davis Cup qualifiers in Osijek, Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah is also performing well at the WTA 250 tournament in São Paulo.

The 19-year-old French player, who came back from a 5-0 deficit in the third set against Ana Sofia Sanchez in the first round, confirmed her form against Victoria Rodriguez (7-5, 6-1).

In the quarterfinals, the 214th-ranked WTA player faced Panna Udvardy, the 118th-ranked Hungarian. In a lively first set filled with breaks (four in total), the Frenchwoman took the lead.

In the second set, Rakotomanga settled for a break early in the set and then held her advantage until the end to win (6-2, 6-4 in 1h25). The left-hander qualifies for her first WTA tour semifinal, just months after falling in the quarterfinals in Rouen against Suzan Lamens.

To try to reach the final, she will have to overcome Renata Zarazua, ranked 84th in the world. The Mexican delivered a strong performance to eliminate Beatriz Haddad Maia (WTA 27th, 7-6, 6-3). The other semifinal matchup will feature Francesca Jones against Janice Tjen.

The British player eliminated the second seed Solana Sierra (6-3, 6-4), while the Indonesian defeated Alexandra Eala (6-4, 6-1) after also eliminating Léolia Jeanjean in the first round.