Former top ten player Patty Schnyder has claimed her first title since announcing her comeback in July at the age of 36.
Schnyder took the title at the ITF $10,000 tournament in Prague, Czech Republic. The Swiss player came through the qualifying rounds before reaching the main draw. On her route to the final she defeated three seeded players. In the second round she beat top seed Jesika Maleckova (world number 289) in straight sets, dropping just two games. She then defeated 7th seed Laura Pigossi followed by 6th seed Karolina Muchova in the last four. In the final she played another unseeded player Zuzana Luknarova. Luknarova is currently ranked at a lowly 941st in the world, but has been as high as 260 in 2011. The Slovakian was no match for Schnyder as the Swiss player cruised in the 6-2, 6-1, victory to claim her first ITF title since 1995.
The Swiss returned to the tour in July at an ITF $25,000 event in Darmstadt, Germany. It was her first professional match since her first round exit at the 2011 French Open. The triumph in the Czech Republic is her first title since the 2008 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, Indonesia. Since returning to the ITF Tour in July, the 36-year-old currently has a win-loss of 11-3.
During her Career Schnyder has beaten top players, including Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport. She has won 11 WTA titles and reached the semi final of the 2004 Australian Open, her best Grand Slam performance. In 2005 she achieved her Career ranking best of 7th.
