Birrell wins Seoul for a first tour title at 28, in an all-Australian final

One. That is how many tour titles Kimberly Birrell has, and she got it at the third attempt in a final: the 28-year-old Australian beat her compatriot Maya Joint 6-4 6-2 to win Seoul.

Birrell arrived as the second seed and ranked 41st, and had lost two tour finals before this one. Joint, 20 and the fifth seed, was ranked 75th and already held two titles, Rabat and Eastbourne in 2025. Both finalists carry an Australian flag, which made the Korea Open final a family affair of sorts. Birrell won 64 of the 108 points, 59 per cent, and took 12 of the 18 games.

The match turned on the break-point ledger. Joint broke first, for a 2-0 lead in the opening set; Birrell broke straight back, broke again for 3-2 and held that lead to 6-4. The second set followed the same pattern: Birrell broke in the opening game, was broken back, then broke three more times, at 2-1, 4-1 and 5-2. She converted six of ten break points to Joint's three of six, and won 67 per cent of her service games to Joint's 33. Joint served four aces to none, but also five double faults to three, and won only 30 per cent of her second-serve points (7 of 23).

The route to the title was not a straight line. Birrell opened with a 7-6(2) 6-4 win over Tamara Zidansek, came from a set down to beat Katie Volynets 2-6 6-2 7-5 in the quarter-final, and then beat the sixth seed Anna Bondar 7-5 2-6 6-1 in the semi-final. Joint's own week began with three match points survived in the opening round, and her semi-final ended when Alina Korneeva retired. Birrell's season record now reads 18-19, and the title is her first on tour. She leads Joint 1-0 in their head-to-head.

Match tale, 27 September 2026, sources: Seoul, api-tennis