KUALA LUMPUR: Tennis teen Saw Jo-Leen has struck again — scoring her third ITF juniors doubles title this year.
Jo-Leen followed up her back-to-back J5 doubles triumphs in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, last month by partnering Russian Arina Valitova to win a tougher J4 event in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday.
The duo did not drop a set en route to the final, defeating Miotisoa Rasendra (Madagascar)-Nicoline Sartz-Lunde (Norway) 6-1, 7-5 in the quarter-finals and Kemat El Tawil (Egypt)-Stad Fani Fanyi Nformi (Cameroon) 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
In the final, Arina and Jo-Leen received a walkover from Austrian pair Johanna Hiesmair-Theresa Stabaeur for reason unknown.
Jo-Leen also reached the semi-finals of the singles event at the same tournament where she was edged by Arina 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
The 14-year-old, who returned to Malaysia on Sunday, said: "This (Nairobi) was my final tournament before heading back to Malaysia, so having this win is very special for me. I played quite well in this tournament after taking a one-week rest before it started.
"I lost narrowly in the singles semi-finals to a much older and higher ranked Russian opponent who happened to be my partner (Arina, 17).
"It is also meaningful for me as the tournament was held on clay, we don't have any clay courts in Malaysia."
Jo-Leen competed in eight tournaments in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Egypt, Namibia and Nigeria over the past two months.