Winners Crowned at ITF World Tour Luxembourg Open 2025

Over the weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January 2025, the ITF World Tour Luxembourg Open concluded at the Centre National de Tennis (CNT) in Esch-sur-Alzette, crowning champions in singles and doubles across men’s and women’s competitions, with a $60,000 prize fund.

Women’s Singles Final

In the women’s singles, 30-year-old Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany (WTA ranked #445) claimed victory in a hard-fought three-set battle against 25-year-old Emily Appleton of Great Britain (WTA ranked #420). Appleton started strong, taking the first set 6:3, but Friedsam rebounded emphatically, winning the second set 6:0.

In the deciding set, Friedsam secured an early break in the fourth game to lead 3:1, but Appleton countered with a break of her own to level the score at 4:4. With the match finely balanced at 6:5 in Friedsam’s favour, the German managed a break to seal the victory 3:6, 6:0, 7:5.

The match, lasting nearly two hours, marked Friedsam’s first three-set encounter of the tournament. Speaking exclusively to Chronicle.lu, Anna-Lena shared: “Today I had my first three-set match, and she played very well in the first set. I managed to turn it around and had it under control in the third set, but I gave a little bit away. In the end, I kept focused and I’m very happy that I could win. It means a lot to me because I’m coming back after injury, and it’s my first title after a long time. I’m really happy that I had some good wins this week and, of course, today as well to take the title.”

Men’s Singles Final

The men’s singles final saw Sweden’s 26-year-old Mikael Ymer, who entered the tournament with a wild card, defeat eighteen-year-old Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway. Ymer dominated the first set, winning 6:1 with two breaks of serve and a series of strong aces in the closing game.

The second set saw Kjaer fight back, levelling the match after a tense 7:5 win. In the third set, Ymer regained control, mirroring the first set’s pattern with a decisive break early on. Despite Kjaer managing to hold serve at 5:2, Ymer closed out the match 6:1, 5:7, 6:2 and took the title.

Returning to competition after an eighteen-month suspension for failing to comply with doping test requirements, Ymer reflected on his victory: “Nicolai is a former world junior number one, so I knew he would be very competitive, and he really proved himself today. I had no idea what to expect going in. I met him for the first time this week, even though he’s Norwegian, but I’m really, really impressed and think we’re going to see a lot of him. I feel great. I think I did a pretty good job, especially mentally, all week. I haven’t competed in a very long time. That said, there are things to work on, so I need to get back on the practice court as soon as possible. It’s a very good step in the right direction and I look forward to what’s to come, taking it week by week.”

Doubles Finals

The doubles finals took place on Saturday 25 January 2025. In the women’s event, the Czech duo of Aneta Kucmova and Aneta Laboutkova triumphed with a 6:3, 6:2 win over the Ukrainian-French pair Veronika Podrez and Marine Szostak.

In the men’s doubles, Sandro Kopp (Austria) and Michael Vrbensky (Czechia) claimed the title, defeating the top-seeded team of Alexander Donski (Bulgaria) and Bruno Pujol Navarro (Spain) in three sets - 3:6, 7:6, 10:3.