Back to back titles for Paige Hourigan

Paige Hourigan has claimed back-to-back doubles titles with her Indian partner Rutuja Bhosale.

Hourigan and Bhosale defeated the all-Japanese team of Haruna Arakawa and Aoi Ito 3-6 6-3 10-6 in an epic final on Saturday at the $75,000 World Tennis Tour tournament in Fukuoka City, Japan.

Last month Hourigan and Bhosale claimed the doubles title at a $40,000 WTT tournament in Wuning, China. So this win in the final makes it eight straight victories for Hourigan and Bhosale as a team.

This result will give the 27-year-old Kiwi another boost in the world rankings. 

It is predicted that Hourigan will jump from 389 to 299 when the rankings are next released.

Crucially, Hourigan needs to be inside the top 300 after Roland Garros to be an option to play with Erin Routliffe in the women’s doubles at the Olympics, under the ITF rules.