Yulia Putintseva Takes First Title in Three Years at 2024 Birmingham Classic
The Kazakh player battled Ajla Tomljanović of Australia in the final.
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 29, defeated Ajla Tomljanović of Australia, 31, to win the Women’s Singles title at the 2024 Birmingham Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom (a WTA 250 event). The score in the final was 6-1 and 7-6 (10-8 tiebreaker) in favor of Putintseva.
This was the sixth match Putintseva and Tomljanović have played against each other on the WTA Tour - with Putintseva leading 4-1 in their prior meetings. Today’s victory was the first title Putintseva has won on the 2024 WTA Tour and the third title of her career in single’s competition. Notably, this was the first title she has taken since prevailing at the Budapest Grand Prix in July 2021. Moreover, this was the first title she has claimed from a grass court event. And finally, she becomes the first player representing Kazakhstan to win the title in Birmingham.
Heading into this tournament, Putintseva was ranked as the Number 41 tennis player on the 2024 WTA Tour, while Tomljanović carried the Number 190 designation. By winning in Birmingham, Putintseva has received 250 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Tomljanović has picked up 163 points.
Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia (No. 13) was the tournament’s reigning champion. This year though, she lost against Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy (No. 44) in the first round. Putintseva entered the main draw with an unseeded slot while Tomljanović used a Protected Ranking entry.
Putintseva arrived in the final after winning against Clara Burel of France (No. 43), Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine (No. 47), Caroline Dolehide of the United States (No. 61), and Cocciaretto. Notably, she didn’t face a seeded player throughout the tournament.
In the other half of the main draw, Tomljanović defeated Anna Blinkova of Russia (No. 60), Zhu Lin of China (No. 54), Leylah Fernandez of Canada (No. 33), and Anastasia Potapova of Russia (No. 36). She knocked out the event’s sixth and seventh seeds to reach the final.
The revised rankings for the 2024 WTA Tour will be officially released on Monday, June 24. The tour will then play two tournaments between June 23 and 29: the Bad Homburg Open in Bad Homburg, Germany (a WTA 500 event) and the Eastbourne International in Eastbourne, United Kingdom (a WTA 500 event). Both competitions will be played on grass courts.
Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic (No. 30) is the reigning champion at the Bad Homburg Open. She is looking to defend the title but is unseeded in the main draw - facing Burel in the first round. Putintseva is also an unseeded player in the main draw - battling Peyton Stearns of the United States (No. 62) in the first round.
Meanwhile, Madison Keys of the United States (No. 12) is the reigning champion at the Eastbourne International. She too is attempting a title defense as the event’s fourth seed - which has earned her a bye into the second round. Tomljanović was originally planning to compete here as well but has withdrawn after reaching the final in Birmingham.