HALESOWEN'S Jordanne Whiley is celebrating back-to-back women’s singles titles in a week in South Korea after defeating Japan’s Momoko Ohtani 6-2, 6-3 to win the ITF 1 Daegu Open.

Whiley – who is part of the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme - will now bid to make it four titles in two weeks when she pairs up with fellow Brit Lucy Shuker for Saturday’s doubles final.

Former world number three Whiley’s latest success included 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-0 wins in her four matches in Daegu as well as a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final victory over world No. 7 Marjolein Buis of the Netherlands.

Whiley’s win over Buis means she has now beaten four world top 10-ranked players since launching her comeback to international wheelchair tennis in February with victory at the LTA’s Wrexham Indoor. Victory in Friday’s final was her second over Ohtani in successive singles finals.

After four singles titles in five tournaments and 21 wins in 22 matches in 2019, Whiley now returns to home in Oxfordshire having regained a place inside the world’s top 20 for the first time since August 2017.

Ten-time Grand Slam champion Whiley, who gave birth to son Jackson in January 2018, said: “I’m very happy with my wins here in Korea although I still feel I have a bit to work and I didn’t play my best these last two weeks. I have improved so much on certain aspects of my game, but now I just need to perfect them. But that will come with more match play. Playing outdoors for the first time this year has been tricky as it’s been quite windy out here, but I feel I’ve handled the conditions pretty well.

“When I started my comeback I never thought I would have won all these tournaments and be ranked inside the Top 20 by April. I’ve now taken an ITF 2 tournament off my planned tournament schedule and added in the French Open Super Series in June, as I feel I’m now ready to play at a higher level,” added Whiley, whose next tournament is due to be next month’s Israel Open.

“It’s been really tough, emotionally, especially this week. Being away from Jackson has been really hard. I’ve been FaceTiming home loads, but it’s been difficult with the time difference.”

Whiley will now hope to make it a ‘double-double’ in Korea when she lines up alongside Shuker for Saturday’s Daegu Open women’s doubles final. Two-time Paralympic bronze medallists Shuker and Whiley beat second seeds Katharina Kruger of Germany and Ohtani 6-4, 6-2 in Friday’s semi-finals as they bid to add to the Busan Open title they won last weekend.

Shuker and Whiley opened their Daegu doubles campaign with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Japan’s Kanako Domori and Saki Takamuro, the same opponents they defeated in the Busan Open final.

For news on Shuker and Whiley’s Daegu Open women’s doubles final, follow @WChairTennisGB.