Nahimana, Kabbaj make history for Burundi, Morocco in Rabat
Two wild playing cards on the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem notched vital nationwide milestones with their first-round victories on Tuesday.
Home hope Yasmine Kabbaj grew to become the primary Moroccan participant to win a match on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz since 2011 by beating Berfu Cengiz 7-6(4), 6-3. Earlier, Sada Nahimana grew to become the primary Burundian to attain a victory over an opponent ranked in the Top 100 by defeating Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 7-5.
Rabat: Scores | Draws | Order of play
No. 334-ranked Kabbaj is simply the fourth Moroccan girl to win a tour-level match in the Open Era, following Habiba Ifrakh, Bahia Mouhtassine and most just lately Nadia Lalami, who made the Fès quarterfinals in 2011. The 22-year-old, a San Diego State alumna, made her WTA main-draw debut as a wild card at Rabat 2024. Last month, she scored her first profession Top 100 victory over Diane Parry in the Saint-Malo WTA 125 first spherical.
Kabbaj — whose profession excessive is No. 331 — is already the third-highest ranked Moroccan girl in WTA history, behind Mouhtassine (who peaked at No. 139 in 2002) and Lalami (who reached No. 322 in 2011).
Nahimana is conversant in making history for Burundi in Rabat. She grew to become the primary participant from her nation to compete in a WTA foremost draw right here in 2023, then in 2025 the primary Burundian to win a tour-level match after she defeated Aya El Aouni to make the second spherical. However, her upset of three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Tomljanovic — in which Nahimana confirmed off spectacular progress with the drop shot — is a career-best efficiency.
The 25-year-old is presently ranked No. 231 after robust performances over the previous two months. Across Nahimana’s 4 prior tournaments, she had reached the finals of the Bujumbura W50 and Platja d’Aro W35, then the semifinals of the Zagreb W75 final week.
A 3rd wild card, 19-year-old Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Kotliar, additionally claimed her first tour-level win with a outstanding comeback win. The No. 528-ranked teenager trailed Francesca Jones 4-0 in the third set, however roared again to seal a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in 2 hours and 20 minutes.