WTA Cleveland: Kostyia Defeats Ann Li in Straight Sets to Claim Title from Qualifying

On August 23, 2025, the WTA 250 Cleveland tournament concluded. In the women's singles final, Romanian veteran Kostyia, who advanced from the qualifiers, defeated local player Ann Li 6-2, 6-4. Having won seven consecutive matches without dropping a set since the qualifiers, she secured her first tour title in over four years and the third of her career.

Kostyia has had a strong season, reaching the quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 Dubai event and the semifinals at the WTA 250 Iasi tournament. In the recently finished WTA 1000 Cincinnati event, she defeated Frech, Vekic, and Yuan Yue before falling to eventual champion Swiatek in the round of 16. Starting from the qualifiers in this event, she displayed excellent form. After winning the title, she will head to New York for the Flushing Meadows tournament, where her first-round opponent will be Argentina’s Sierra.

Kostyia’s Path to the Title

Qualifying Rounds

First Round: 6-1, 6-0 vs. Frech

Second Round: 6-2, 6-2 vs. Masarova

Main Draw

First Round: 6-4, 6-1 vs. Uchijima

Second Round: 6-1, 6-1 vs. Teichmann

Quarterfinals: 6-4, 6-1 vs. Samsonova[1]

Semifinals: 6-1, 7-5 vs. Zakharova

Final: 6-2, 6-4 vs. Ann Li

In doubles, the Strait duo Jiang Xinyu and Zhan Haoqing were runners-up after losing 6-7(3), 4-6 to top seeds Danilina and Krunic.

(Text and editing by Dato, images courtesy of Visual China)