Maaya Rajeshwaran Wins Maiden Pro Title at ITF W35 Lagos

Maaya Rajeshwaran has won her first professional singles title at the ITF W35 tournament in Lagos, completing a double triumph after also lifting the doubles trophy alongside Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Kotliar.

The 17-year-old defeated Spain’s Celia Cerviño Ruiz 6-4, 6-2 in the singles final on Sunday. Rajeshwaran did not drop a set across the week, a significant result as she begins to spend more time in professional events while retaining one more year of junior Grand Slam eligibility.

The title arrived only months after Rajeshwaran left the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and moved her training base to the Elite Tennis Centre in Cannes, in the south of France. Jean-René Lisnard, the head coach at the Elite Tennis Centre, travelled with her to the tournament.

A breakthrough week in Lagos

Rajeshwaran came through the qualifying rounds before being handed a difficult opening-round draw against top seed Justina Mikulskyte of Lithuania. She entered the event with modest expectations and described herself as the underdog.

Her opening match became one of the defining moments of the week. Rajeshwaran fell 0-5 behind in the first set, but refused to let the deficit dictate the outcome. She recalled checking the clock around 25 minutes into the match and deciding she did not want to lose a set that quickly.

Playing point by point, she recovered to take the set 7-5. With momentum shifted, she went on to win the second set and advance. Rajeshwaran said the experience of winning a set from 0-5 had an effect on her during the tournament.

She maintained that run through the draw without surrendering a set, setting up a final against seventh seed Cerviño Ruiz. Rajeshwaran closed out the championship match 6-4, 6-2 to secure the maiden professional singles title of her career.

The final brought its own pressure, particularly in the second set. Rajeshwaran said she dealt with it by zoning out and singing in her head, using whatever song had been playing that morning to stay light and let go. By championship point, she said she viewed it simply as another point rather than a match-defining moment.

New training base and next steps

Rajeshwaran’s success in Lagos came soon after her decision to relocate from Mallorca to Cannes. She said the switch to the Elite Tennis Centre was made in what she believed to be her best interest and that it was the right decision.

The new centre has previously produced players including Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev. For Rajeshwaran, the immediate evidence from Lagos was encouraging: a singles title, a doubles title with Kotliar, and ranking points that she believes will create further opportunities.

She is planning to play more professional tournaments next year while continuing to enter junior Slams. Rajeshwaran was candid that her junior major results this season were not as strong as she had hoped, but said those performances are now behind her.

Over the coming months, her priorities are to build physically and stay clear of injuries as she adjusts to the demands of the senior tour. She said she has not yet played enough tournaments to know exactly how that transition will develop and is prepared for surprises.

The Lagos titles do not change the week-to-week nature of tennis, and Rajeshwaran expected to be back on court the following day. But she said the tournament had strengthened an important part of her game: trust in herself. That confidence, developed across an unbeaten singles week, is the immediate value of her first professional title.