Three match points saved and a first WTA final: Tagger continues her rise in Jiujiang

Young Austrian player Lilli Tagger qualified for the final of the WTA 250 in Jiujiang after a stunning comeback against Viktorija Golubic.

Lilli Tagger's meteoric rise continues in 2025. The Roland-Garros Juniors champion in June, the 17-year-old Austrian, who received a wild card into the WTA 250 tournament in Jiujiang, and is a protégée of Francesca Schiavone, pulled off an impressive performance in the semi-finals this Saturday.

Trailing 5-2 in the third set against the world number 53, Tagger, who possesses a one-handed backhand like her Italian coach, saved three match points and ultimately won five consecutive games to defeat the number 2 seed (6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in 2 hours and 12 minutes).

Impressive since the start of the tournament, the player born in February 2008 had previously eliminated Zhu Chenting (6-2, 6-1), Elisabetta Cocciaretto (6-4, 6-2), and Tamara Korpatsch (6-3, 6-4) to reach the semi-finals, where she this time beat Golubic.

She qualifies for the very first final of her career on the WTA Tour, having already won three titles on the secondary circuit this year (Terrassa against Loïs Boisson in the final, Bucharest, and Kursumlijska Banja).

Tagger will face Anna Blinkova, world number 95, who won the other semi-final against Dominika Salkova (6-4, 6-4). Ranked 235th in the world before the tournament, Tagger is already guaranteed to rise to at least 170th place after the tournament.