At the C10 Yeongwol 2, Venise Chan claimed her third career ITF Women's pro circuit title after beating fellow unranked qualifier Yuan Yue of China in the final, 6-2, 6-3.

"I played 21 matches since the qualifying started at Saitama three weeks ago. I was so tired physically but then I just really wanted to win at the end in Yeongwol," said Venise Chan.

She last triumphed on the ITF women's circuit in July 2006 when she beat current Indonesian number one Ayu-Fani Damayanti (WTA 286) in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to win C10 Bangkok 1. Prior to that, she won her first pro circuit title at the C10 Manila 1 in November 2005 as a 16-year-old qualifier when she upset three seeded players along the way.

She was also a finalist at the C10 Manila 2 in 2005, C10 Jakarta in 2006, and C10 Khonkhan in 2008.

Last summer, Venise Chan made a winning debut on the USTA Pro Circuit when she defeated fellow All-American Kelcy McKenna (Arizona State) to capture the 112th GPTC/NIKE Tennis Championships of Oregon.

Inclement weather, however, threatened to wreak havoc in Yeongwol last week, thereby resulting in a number of unexpected rain delays. After she beat No. 1 seed Han Na-Lae (WTA 491) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, the organizers were forced to reschedule the order of play over the weekend.

In the end, players had to contest both their semifinals and final matches on Sunday.

However, that did not deter Venise Chan's desire to bring home her first ITF pro circuit silverware in five years, as she powered past No. 7 seed Kim Sun-Jung (WTA 792) in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, in the semis before easing to a 6-2, 6-3 win against fellow qualifier Yuan Yue in the title decider.

In fact, Venise Chan has dropped just one set during the whole week, which came about in the round two encounter against No. 6 seed Lee Hua-Chen, last week's runner-up at the C10 Yeongwol 1.

The Hong Kong native eventually prevailed, 7-6(6), 6-7(9), 6-0, after squandering a slew of opportunities to close it out in straight sets.

According to the 2011 WTA Ranking System – How It Works, reaching the semifinals of a US$10,000 ITF Women's Circuit event (32-draw) is worth six computer ranking points, while winning the event outright translates to twelve points.

Thus, Venise Chan is now in possession of 25 points accumulated over the past 52 weeks, which should approximate to a ranking in the No. 738 to No. 768 range.  She first debuted on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles Ranking List on February 20, 2006 at No. 770.

She finished 2006 with a year-end WTA Ranking of No. 479, the first time a player from Hong Kong concluded a season with a Top-500 ranking since Tong Ka Po ended 2002 at No. 369.

Incidentally, winning a Grand Slam singles title, such as the U.S. Open, is worth 2,000 points.

Elsewhere, Zhang Ling (WTA 204) is all set for the US$100,000 ITF Women's Circuit event in Ningbo this week where WTA Top-100 players Arantxa Rus of Holland (81) and Anastasia Yakimova of Russia (84) head the field. Many of the leading women in Asia are expected to make their presence felt, such as Taiwanese number two Chang Kai-Chen (140), Erika Sema (146), Hsieh Su-Wei (202), Chinese number five Han Xin-Yun (169), Lu Jing-Jing (197), and Thai number two Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (156).

Poland's former world No. 37 Marta Domachowska will also be present.



For the latest news and updates on Venise Chan and Zhang Ling, visit www.tennishk.org.


Results
US$10,000 ITF Women's Circuit
Yeongwol, Korea
Sep 5-12, 2011

WOMEN'S SINGLES

First Round
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. Sim Sol Hee (KOR) 6-2 6-2

Second Round
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (6)Lee Hua-Chen (TPE) 7-6(6) 6-7(9) 6-0

Quarterfinals
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (1)Han Na-Lae (KOR) 6-3 6-4

Semifinals
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (7)Kim Sun-Jung (KOR) 6-1 6-2

Final
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (q)Yuan Yue (CHN) 6-2 6-3

WOMEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING

First Round
Venise Chan (HKG) d. Ma Zi-Xuan (CHN) 6-4 6-3

Second Round
Venise Chan (HKG) d. Lee Ye Rin (KOR) 7-5 7-5

Third Round
Venise Chan (HKG) d. Yang Shen (CHN) 6-2 6-3