Atlanta’s Taylor Townsend, the former No. 1-ranked junior in the world, stopped Florida teen sensation Whitney Osuigwe, a fellow world No. 1 junior, 6-4, 6-4 in the clay court final of the USTA Pro Circuit and $100,000 ITF World Tennis Tour tournament in Charleston, S.C., on Sunday.
For Townsend it was a second Charleston title in a row. For the 17-year-old Osuigwe it was the end of a winning streak that extended to the ITF Chatlottesville, Va., event last week where Osuigwe had beaten Townsend en route to the title.
“It means a lot to win two in a row here,” Townsend told The Post & Courier. “I had confidence. I lost to her in Charlottesville, so I knew it was going to be a really tough match. It’s not easy conditions. It’s hot. It’s humid. It gives me a lot of confidence going into the next tournament (in Bonita Springs, Fla.) and then going over to Europe (for the French Open).”
🇺🇸 @TaylorTownsend repeats as the singles champion at the $100K #USTAProCircuit event in Charleston, SC! 🙌
📸: @CCSMOOTH13 pic.twitter.com/5Twz1xYpG1
— USTA (@usta) May 6, 2019
The 23-year-old Townsend will be a direct entry into the French Open while Osuigwe at a career-high No. 124 on the WTA rankings is looking to earn her way into Roland Garros by winning the USTA Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge. The challenge offers a French Open main draw wild card to the U.S. player who accumulates the most points over a series of events. The Brandenton, Fla., resident currently leads the point tally.
Townsend’s best results entering Charleston this year were quarterfinals at events in Newport Beach and Charlottesville. She improved to 10-3 in career USTA/ITF finals. Osuigwe fell to 2-2 in career USTA/ITF finals, posting a 1-1 record last year and now 1-1 in 2019.
The tournament was a clean sweep for Townsend, who with partner Asia Muhammad won the doubles title. In the final the top seeds defeated the unseeded pairing of fellow Americans Madison Brengle and Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-2. Townsend improved to 16-7 in career USTA/ITF doubles finals, and to 8-1 career with Muhammad in finals.
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