Fifteen-year-old Brazilian wild card Nauhany Vitoria Leme Da Silva made history at the Sao Paulo Open by becoming the first player born in 2010 to win a WTA Tour-level match. She defeated compatriot Carolina Alves 6-7(0), 6-2, 6-0 in 1 hour 49 minutes in the opening round.
A Historic Tournament in Sao Paulo
The tournament marks the first WTA event staged in Sao Paulo since 2000 and is being played at Villa-Lobos State Park in the Alto de Pinheiros district, where Leme Da Silva grew up competing. Ranked No. 1,206 and playing just her seventh professional event, she was the first 2010-born player to earn a WTA ranking last September and is set to rise into the Top 1,000 next week. Known to fans as Nana, she is also No. 37 in the junior rankings and reached the Wimbledon girls’ third round this year.
Her match against the No. 237-ranked, 29-year-old Alves was the first all-Brazilian meeting at tour level since 2016, when Teliana Pereira faced Beatriz Haddad Maia in Miami. Leme Da Silva saved two set points to force a first-set tiebreak but fell behind after losing it 7-0. From 2-1 down in the second set, she surged, winning 11 straight games to seal her first victory over a Top 300 opponent. In the second round, she will meet Argentine No. 2 seed Solana Sierra, a Top 100 player who beat Arianne Hartono 7-6(4), 6-3.
Another Brazilian 15-year-old, wild card Victoria Luiza Barros, impressed on her WTA debut before losing to No. 136 Whitney Osuigwe 6-3, 6-4 after leading 4-1 in the second set. Barros, four months older than Leme Da Silva, is the junior world No. 19 and is playing her fifth professional tournament. The teenagers will also pair up in doubles against Anna Rogers and Janice Tjen.
In other action, Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah produced a dramatic comeback to defeat Ana Sofia Sánchez 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7). The 19-year-old French player trailed 5-0 in the final set and saved three match points—one at 5-1 and two at 5-4—before turning the match around after nearly three hours on court. This thrilling performance exemplifies the rising talent in women’s tennis.