Ewen Lumsden wins first pro title, Maia Lumsden reaches final in France, TS Open Tour recap

Ewen Lumsden wins maiden pro title 

Ewen Lumsden secured his first ITF pro title at the M15 Monastir with doubles partner Luc Fomba of France. 

Lumsden and Fomba teamed up for the first time as they took on the top seeds Constantin Kouzmine and Aleksandr Lobanov, who they toppled 7-5 6-4 to move on to the quarter-finals.  

The Scots-French duo followed up their first round upset with a convincing 6-2 6-1 win against Roland Stuurman of the Netherlands and Niklas Waldner of Austria. 

In the semi-finals, Lumsden and Fomba were dominant during their match against French pair Loan Lestir and Cyril Vandermeersch before they retired at 6-0 4-0 to send Lumsden and Fomba through to the final. 

The final saw the pair face Jordan Chiu of the Unites States and Daniel De Jong of the Netherlands. After losing the first set, Lumsden and Fomba managed to recover to edge out their opponents in a dramatic final-set tie-break 5-7 7-6 13-11. 

The win marked Ewen’s first title on the pro tour since he started playing the ITF circuit after his return from college. 

He is back in action for another week in Tunisia where he competes in the singles and teams up with compatriot Charlie Robertson in the doubles.

Maia Lumsden reaches doubles final in France  

Maia Lumsden reached the final of the ITF W75 Croissy-Beabourg, France, with her doubles partner Jessika Ponchet. The pair came into the event after a semi-final run last week in Maribor, Slovenia. 

After a first-round bye, the pair started strongly, dispatching home pair Diana Martynov and Marine Szotak 6-4 6-2. 

Lumsden and Ponchet suffered an early setback in the semi-final as they were forced to comeback from a set down to beat Americans Carmen Corely and Ivana Corely 2-6 7-5 10-0 to progress to the final. 

In the championship match, the Scots-French duo were up against Estelle Cascino of France and Alexandra Eala of the Phillipines.  

But it was not to be for Lumsden and Ponchet as they were edged out in two tight sets 5-7 6-7(4). 

Maia now returns to the UK to prepare for the upcoming clay court season.

Whitecraigs TS Open Tour recap 

The TS Open Tour returned over the Easter weekend at the 2024 Whitecraigs Easter Tournament. 

Top seed Nicolas Rosenzweig successfully defended his 2023 title as he was able to fend off the competition on his way to the men’s singles crown. In the women’s draw, third seed Halle Pringle emerged victorious as she picked up her first title of the 2024 season. 

Pringle received a bye into the second round before taking on Shaylin Holt, who she moved past 6-2 6-0. She then faced University of Stirling teammate Anna McBride in the quarter-finals, who she was able to overcome 6-0 6-4 to progress to the final four. 

In the semi-finals, Pringle played second seed Heather Barlow in a tightly contested match-up which saw Pringle pull through 7-6(7) 6-4.  

In the final, she faced Annique Varty, who was on a strong run of form. Varty had toppled first seed Sarah McFadyen in the quarter-finals before downing Kirsty Robertson to reach the final.  

Pringle got off to a dominant start, winning the first set 6-0 before closing out the tournament in a close second set 7-6(2). 

Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, Rosenzweig saw off Isaac King in the first round 6-1 6-1 before moving past Luke Wilson 6-2 6-2.  

He then faced Cameron Fryer in the quarter-final, who he had to give a walkover to in their last encounter at the Scottish Indoors. Back to form, Rosenzweig was able to pull through, recovering from a set down to the Indoors finalist 5-7 6-2 10-6 to progress to the semis. 

There he faced fourth seed Rob Cowley who was having a strong tournament having beaten Jed Alexander in the previous round. Rosenzweig kept his winning momentum up by downing Cowley 6-3 7-5 to book a spot in the final. 

The final saw him play third seed Liam Hignett, who was fresh off his BUCS singles and team wins the week before. Hignett had beaten second seed James Mackinlay in the in a third set match tie-break in the semis. 

Rosenzweig but together another strong performance to best Hignett in straight sets 6-3 6-2 and successfully defend his title.  

Keep an eye out on our socials for an updated TS Open Tour leaderboard in the coming weeks.