Tagger, who lifted the French Open girls’ crown in 2025, claimed the WTA 250 title after overcoming Ukraine’s eighth seed Daria Snigur 7-6(3), 6-2.
The Austrian teenager recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the opening set before taking control of the match, firing nine aces and winning 81% of points behind her first serve.
The victory continued Tagger’s remarkable rise after she was ranked outside the world’s top 500 at the same stage last year. She has now climbed to a career-best No. 45, becoming the youngest player inside the WTA top 50 and only the second teenager to win a WTA title this season. Her distinctive single-handed backhand has also drawn widespread praise.
“We’re doing amazing work, we’re working very, very hard, so thank you for helping me every day to achieve my goals,” Tagger said to her team, which includes former Roland-Garros champion Francesca Schiavone, during her victory speech.
“Today is actually quite a special day because my family is here. They decided yesterday evening to come. It’s very special for me to stand here today and having this trophy in front of you.
“Normally they watch every match at home live but today they came to watch it. thank you very much, I think everything I’ve done in life wouldn’t be possible without you.”
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Van Assche secured the ATP 250 trophy in Estoril with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Alexander Blockx. The Frenchman, who won the Roland-Garros boys’ title in 2021, also broke into the top 50 for the first time.
“Super, super happy, super proud, of course, of my week. It was a crazy week from the beginning to the end with so difficult matches. So, yeah, I’m so happy to win the title here. I was not expecting that, of course, one week ago. So, yeah, I’m just so relieved,” Van Assche told Tennis TV after the final.
His title run included victories over Pablo Carreno Busta and top seed Andrey Rublev, while four of his five wins went the distance after opening the tournament with a marathon three-hour, 26-minute triumph over Portuguese wildcard Frederico Ferreira Silva.
