Qualifiers Julieta Pareja and Raluka Serban both celebrated significant first-round victories at the Copa Colsanitas Zurich on Tuesday.
American Julieta Pareja, aged 16, marked a historic moment by becoming the first player born in 2009 to not only compete in but also win a WTA main draw match. She defeated Colombian wild card Maria Jose Sanchez Uribe, also 16, in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. This was a debut WTA main draw for both players. Notably, this match was the first WTA main draw encounter between two players under 17 since 2009 in Prague.
Pareja is currently ranked No. 550, making her the highest-ranked player born in 2009 in the PIF WTA Rankings. In the previous year, she reached the final qualifying round of the US Open as a wild card and secured her first ITF title at the Rancho Santa Fe W15.
This week in Bogota, Pareja qualified for the main draw by winning against Carol Zhao and Eva Vedder, both in straight sets. Her next opponent is lucky loser Patricia Maria Tig, who defeated Emiliana Arango. A win against Tig would make Pareja the youngest WTA quarterfinalist since 2021.
In another milestone, Raluka Serban, ranked No. 204, made history as the first tennis player from Cyprus to win a WTA tour-level match. She defeated Nuria Parrizas Diaz in a three-set match: 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. This was Serban`s third WTA main draw appearance. Her best Grand Slam performance was reaching the final qualifying round at Roland Garros last year.
Serban, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 152 in 2023, is the only Cypriot player ever to break into the Top 300 and is one of only two Cypriots currently holding a WTA ranking. Next, she is set to compete against No. 1 seed Marie Bouzkova.
Pareja and Serban were not the only players to achieve milestones in their Bogota opening matches. Hanna Chang, ranked No. 194, celebrated her WTA main draw debut with a victory over Varvara Lepchenko in an all-American first-round match: 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The defending champion and No. 2 seed, Camila Osorio, advanced with a dominant win over wild card Mariana Isabel Higuita Barraza. Additionally, Tatjana Maria, a two-time Bogota champion and No. 6 seed, won a long match against Chloe Paquet: 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4.
Seventeen-year-old Iva Jovic became the second American teenager to reach the second round by defeating No. 3 seed Alycia Parks. Jovic maintains a perfect record in first-round matches at the tour level across four main draws. Her next match will be against Julia Riera.
