Photo credit: Libema Open Facebook
Sidelined from the pro circuit for 10 months, Robin Montgomery turned ‘S-Hertogenbosch’s grass into transformative territory today.
World No. 484 Montgomery captured her maiden WTA title without striking a shot as scheduled opponent Barbora Krejcikova withdrew due to an illness.
“I’m sorry to announce that I have to withdraw from today’s Libema Open final due to illness,” Krejcikova said in the statement. “I have been felling unwell and after consulting with the medical team it has become clear that I am not in a condition to compete today. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to play in the final and compete for a title, but today it’s not possible.
“I would also like to congratulate Robin for a great week here and wish her the very best for the rest of the season. I am disappointed to end my tournament in this way, but I will focus on recovering as quickly as possible and look forward to returning to competition soon.”
Qualifier Montgomery, who was sidelined from June of 2025 to April of 2026 due to injury, made the most of her opportunity to become the lowest-ranked player to win a WTA Tour title since No. 508 Elina Svitolina won Strasbourg in 2023.
This title vaults Montgomery to No. 194 in the WTA Live Rankings. Montgomery, who trains at the Junior Tennis Champions’ Center in College Park, Maryland, reached a career-high ranking of No. 95 last June before injury forced her off the Tour.
Contesting just her third tournament of the season, the 21-year-old Montgomery dropped the first set she played in qualifying and lost her first set of main-draw play to Daria Kasatkina before rallying to a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory. After that opening-round triumph, Montgomery scored straight-sets wins over Greet Minnen, Daria Snigur and Ajla Tomljanovic before receiving the walkover win from two-time Grand Slam champion Krejcikova.