The “young” Marchenko defeats the “experienced” Zvonareva and wins the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge title

The young Croatian Petramarchenko, 20 years old, won the title of the 28th Al Habtoor International Women’s Tennis Challenge Championship, after a well-deserved victory over the veteran Russian Vera Zvonareva (41 years old) in two sets without a response, with a score of 6-3 and 6-3, in an exciting final hosted by the courts of the Al Habtoor Grand Resort in Dubai. The match lasted an hour and 17 minutes, during which the two players gave a strong performance and distinguished artistic shots.

Marchenko’s victory enhanced her remarkable brilliance in the Emirates, as a few days ago she achieved the Fujairah W75 Championship title, recording a new double between Dubai and Fujairah, in an achievement that she has not repeated since she achieved two consecutive titles in the country in the junior women’s category in 2019.

The Croatian champion won the prize money amounting to $15,239 (56 thousand dirhams), in addition to 150 points that enter her balance in the international classification, while Zvonareva won $8,147 (29,940 dirhams).

Marchenko expressed her happiness at concluding the 2025 season in the best way, stressing that the Dubai title is the culmination of a distinguished year during which she achieved her first title in the WTA125 category in Rome, in addition to the Landsville and Tyler championships in the United States, then the Fujairah title before arriving in Dubai.

In the doubles competitions, the Asian duo consisting of the Chinese Xinyu Gao and the Thai Mananchaya Sawangkaew were crowned champions, after defeating the Russian pair consisting of Zvonareva and Rada Zolotareva with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 10-7, in an exciting match that lasted an hour and 41 minutes.

The head of the organizing committee, Khalaf Ahmed Al Habtoor, crowned the winners in the singles and doubles categories, in the presence of Vice President of the UAE Tennis Federation Ahmed Abdul Malik, Secretary-General Nasser Al Marzouqi, and tournament director Noura Badawi.

The coronation ceremony witnessed Khalaf Ahmed Al Habtoor being honored with a shield from the Emirates Tennis Federation in appreciation of his efforts in supporting and sustaining the tournament, and for his contributions to enhancing the presence of the game locally.

During his speech, Al Habtoor thanked the attendees, the players, the International Federation and the local media, considering that the continuation of organizing this tournament is a societal duty to promote Dubai and the Emirates.

It is noteworthy that the 28th edition of the Challenge Championship, classified in the W100 category in the International Tennis Federation series, witnessed a wide participation of promising female players.