After a tough three-set battle, Tian Fangran clinched the Brisbane title, securing her first championship of the 2025 season.

It is well known that tennis tournaments are ranked from lowest to highest as Futures, Challengers, Tours, and Grand Slams. Generally, because Futures tournaments are the lowest level, they often receive little attention from many fans. However, the vast majority of Chinese players currently still compete mainly in Futures events. Therefore, following the performances of Chinese players in Futures tournaments often means keeping an eye on the future of Chinese tennis players.

Last week, Luo Xi reached her first-ever Futures semifinal in Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Tian Jialin won four consecutive matches in Lagos, Portugal, advancing to her first career 35K semifinal; wildcard entrant Ye Shiyu also made it to her first 35K semifinal at the Qiandao Lake Futures; and Sun Xinran, born in 2010, won five straight matches in the Sharm El Sheikh Futures in Egypt, not only claiming her first Futures title but also becoming the youngest Chinese female player to win a Futures championship.

Last week, another player achieved a new career breakthrough in a Futures event. So, who is this player? And what kind of breakthrough did she accomplish? Today, this article will take you to find out. This player is Tian Fangran, who in 2023 became the first Chinese player to win the NCAA championship; that same year, she also won two Futures titles.

However, before last week, Tian Fangran had yet to win a title in the 2025 season. A few days ago, she suffered a heavy defeat to Japanese player Rinasa Nishigo at the Jing Shan Challenger, which caused many fans to lose confidence in her. Last week, Tian Fangran entered the Brisbane Futures in Australia as the tournament’s seventh seed. In the first round, she allowed only one game to Japanese qualifier Hisamari Sato and advanced smoothly.

Due to the withdrawal of Australian player S. Webb before the event, Tian Fangran advanced to the quarterfinals without playing; in the quarterfinals, she delivered two bagels, sweeping Japanese qualifier Reina Goto to reach the semifinals; in the semifinals, Tian maintained her strong form, conceding only five games to Taiwan’s Yang Yayi, earning her spot in the final. This marked her second Futures final appearance of the 2025 season. Objectively speaking, Tian Fangran was now just one step away from the title.

In the final, her opponent was the fourth seed, British player Swan. This player has previously reached a Tour semifinal and is a formidable competitor. Indeed, Swan took the first set 6-2, gaining an early advantage; in the second set, both players held serve, resulting in a tight score that led to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Tian Fangran outplayed her opponent, winning it and pushing the match into a deciding set.

In the final set, Tian Fangran launched frequent successful attacks, breaking through her opponent’s defense and scoring repeatedly to pull ahead. She played exceptionally well in this set, handing her opponent a bagel and coming from behind to win the match, claiming the championship. Notably, this was Tian Fangran’s first 35K title in her career. With this victory, her world ranking returned to the top 400. That’s today’s tennis story; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)