Tennis: Date Krumm is oldest WTA winner since King

Published on Monday 28 September 2009 00:50

JAPAN'S Kimiko Date Krumm became the oldest winner of a WTA tournament since American Billie Jean King in 1983 when she won her first WTA Tour title in 13 years with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues at the Korea Open.

A day shy of her 39th birthday, the former world No4 overpowered the second seed in Seoul yesterday. King was 39 years, seven months and 23 days old when she won in Birmingham. It was Date Krumm's eighth career title.

Date Krumm, whose last win came when the Spice Girls topped the charts and Bill Clinton was still United States president, returned to professional tennis in April last year after a 12-year hiatus.

"I'm extremely happy," she told reporters. "I am about to turn 39, so there was no big pressure on me at all. I honestly don't know where I get the energy from at my age.

"I think I have another couple of years left in me."