Marino wins biggest title since 2019 on ITF Tour in California

Canada had two champions in women’s tennis this weekend, as Rebecca Marino joined Leylah Fernandez in the winner’s circle with a title at the ITF Event in Arcadia, California.

Marino picked up her first title of 2022 at the W60 event, her biggest win since 2019, without dropping a set, capping off the run with a win over American Alycia Parks in the final 7-6(0), 6-1.

The Canadian veteran is now 12-2 since qualifying for the Australian Open, has reached the semi-finals or better at three straight tournaments, and boasts a solid 15-4 record in 2022.

In her previous two tournaments, Marino had reached the semi-finals and then been the runner-up, so when she reached the final of Arcadia, she was looking to go one step further once again. She had been cruising through the draw, not losing more than four games in a set in any of her first four matches.

But in the final, Marino had her hands full with Parks, who hung with the big-hitting Canadian in the opening set, pushing her to a tiebreak for the first time in the tournament.

However, starting in the breaker, Marino seized full control of the match, winning seven straight points to sweep the tiebreak and from there, the whole match was one-way traffic. The Canadian broke serve twice in the second set, winning the final five games of the match in a row to claim the title.

Parks was Marino’s fourth consecutive American opponent in Arcadia. In the first round, the Canadian had avenged her loss in the Cancun final two weeks ago by defeating Czech Linda Fruhvirtova.

The title is Marino’s fifth $50/60K title in her career, the highest level of title she has ever won.

Marino will look to keep her hot run going against a fifth straight American opponent as she heads back to Mexico for another W60 event in Irapuato.