SAINT PETERSBURG: Daria Kasatkina captured her second WTA title of the season as Margarita Gasparyan retired with a back injury during the second set of Sunday’s final in Saint Petersburg.
Former world number 10 Kasatkina led 6-3, 2-1 in an all-Russian final when Gasparyan was forced to quit, handing her opponent a fourth career title.
Kasatkina, 23, also won last month’s Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne, her first tournament victory since her 2018 triumph in Moscow.
Gasparyan, ranked 126th and playing on a wildcard, took a medical time out during the first set but stopped after double-faulting twice and dropping serve in the third game of the second set.
Kasatkina endured a difficult 2019 and slumped to 75th last year but will climb back into the top 50 Monday after becoming the first player to win two WTA events in 2021.
Former world number 10 Kasatkina led 6-3, 2-1 in an all-Russian final when Gasparyan was forced to quit, handing her opponent a fourth career title.
Kasatkina, 23, also won last month’s Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne, her first tournament victory since her 2018 triumph in Moscow.
Gasparyan, ranked 126th and playing on a wildcard, took a medical time out during the first set but stopped after double-faulting twice and dropping serve in the third game of the second set.
Kasatkina endured a difficult 2019 and slumped to 75th last year but will climb back into the top 50 Monday after becoming the first player to win two WTA events in 2021.