Mayar Sherif continued to make tennis history for her country by becoming the first Egyptian to win a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournament, in the process breaking into the top 80 in the world rankings. On Sunday, the 25-year-old Sherif beat Italy's Martina Trevisan in the final of the Liqui Moly Open in Karlsruhe, Germany, held from 6 to 12 September. The tournament's third-seed Egyptian tennis sensation beat her opponent, the fourth seed, in two straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. To get to the final, Sherif, 25, beat Germany's Sina Hermann 6-0, 6-2, then Poland's Katrzynza Kawan 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16. In the quarter-final, she beat Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 6-2 to face Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in the semi-final, beating her 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. According to the WTA, Sherif was ranked 94 in the singles and 154 in doubles by 30 August, before the Liqui Moly Open. Following her victory, she is now 74 in the world. The Egyptian had taken part in the US Open, however, was ousted from the first round of 128 of the qualifying matches, losing to Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-4, 1-6, 1-6, forcing an early bye to the tournament before moving to Germany for the Liqui Moly win. Sherif also represented Egypt at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games but exited after losing the first-round match to Sweden's Rebecca Peterson. Sherif was the first Egyptian tennis player to qualify for an Olympic Games after winning the African Championship. *A version of this article appears in print in the 16 September, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly