Noha Akugue advances to Hamburg final on WTA Tour debut, will play Rus for title

German wildcard Noma Noha Akugue advanced to the final of the Hamburg Open by winning against Russian Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-3 at Am Rothenbaum on Friday.

Noha Akugue, ranked No 207, will face Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, the No 7 seed, next. The German is the first woman to reach a WTA Tour final on her debut since 2019.

The fairytale continues on home soil ❤️🇩🇪

Noma Noha Akugue surges into her first tour-level FINAL in her maiden WTA main draw appearance! #HamburgOpen pic.twitter.com/6uY489LKgy

— wta (@WTA) July 28, 2023

The 19-year-old German defeated Brazilian Laura Pigossi (7-5, 6-4), Australian Storm Hunter (0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4) and Italian Martina Trevisan (5-7, 6-4, 7-5) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Hamburg tournament, Shnaider, ranked No 101, beat qualifier Polina Kudermetova (6-0, 4-6, 6-1), Austrian Julia Grabher, the No 5 seed (6-4, 6-2) and American Bernarda Pera, the No 3 seed (6-1, 2-6, 6-4).

Hamburg WTA 250, other semi-final result (Am Rothenbaum, clay, EUR 225.480):

• Arantxa Rus beat Daria Saville (Q): 2-6, 6-3, 6-1