Isabella Kruger and Zoe Kruger punched above their weight on Saturday, but were ultimately edged out in the doubles final at the WIPHOLD International in Pretoria.
The Kruger sisters were outplayed in the first set against the Russian pairing of Alina Charaeva and Ekaterina Reyngold.
They hit back in the second set, however, as they set one eye on the trophy, but Charaeva and Reyngold maintained their composure to win 6-0 5-7 10-3.
Congrats to the winners and runners-up of week 2 of the WIPHOLD International! 🏆
— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) March 2, 2024
Singles
Winner 👉 🇧🇷 Laura Pigossi
Runner-up 👉 🇧🇪 Hanne Wandewinkel
Doubles
Winners 👉 Alina Charaeva & Ekaterina Reyngold
Runners-up 👉 🇿🇦 Isabella Kruger & Zoe Kruger#WIPHOLDinternational pic.twitter.com/nBNQSjRkZO
Meanwhile, in the singles competition, top seed Laura Pigossi of Brazil delivered in style, beating No 8 seed Hanne Wandewinkel of Belgium 6-2 4-6 7-5 in the final.
"I'm really happy with my performance this whole week, but today especially," said Pigossi, who secured her ninth career ITF singles title.
"I think she (Vandewinkel) played really good tennis. She wasn't afraid of being aggressive against me, so I just stayed in the match and stayed positive."
Pigossi, who reached the semifinals at the W50 tournament in Pretoria last week, said she enjoyed her latest visit to South Africa, and she hoped to be back.
"I'm really excited to come back if there are more tournaments. I love playing at altitude, I love Pretoria and I love South Africa," she said.
It's a wrap! 🙌
— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) March 2, 2024
What an incredible two weeks of international women's tennis in Pretoria!
A big thank you to WIPHOLD, @ITFTennis, @SABCsport, @TuksSport, @DunlopSportsSA and @CityTshwane for making these events possible.🙏#WIPHOLDinternational pic.twitter.com/zkv8mXIqQH