Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS) Poland's Magda Linette has dedicated her Chennai Open title win to the victims of a mass shooting in Krakow, where at least six people were killed, and more than a dozen others injured when a gunman opened fire in Main Market Square.

Linette, who had been the Chennai runner-up in 2022 to Linda Fruhvirtova, won 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in a summit clash that had been postponed by a day due to adverse weather conditions.

"As much as I'm so happy, it's hard to celebrate because of what happened in Poland, in Krakow," Linette said after the win, as quoted by WTA. "I just want to say that my heart and wishes are with all the victims and those who are hurt. In those tough moments we can really thank and appreciate one another and give that person next to us an extra hug today."

Chennai marked Linette's ninth career final and the first tournament where she has contested multiple finals, but she had a demon to exorcise from her previous title match here. Back in 2022, she led Linda Fruhvirtova 4-1 in the third set of the final, only to lose 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Linette's week in India began with a victory in the longest WTA main-draw match of 2026 so far, a 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2 marathon over qualifier Aliona Falei in 3 hours and 33 minutes. After a straight-sets win over Moyuka Uchijima in the second round, the 34-year-old then had to come from a set down in her last three matches.

In the quarterfinals, she also trailed Mai Hontama 5-3 in the second set and 4-2 in the decider. In total, she spent 12 hours and 28 minutes on court. "I fought from the very first round. I was down in almost every single match, so it really took a lot out of me, but most of all I proved to myself that I can," she said.

This is the fourth WTA trophy of Linette's career as Chennai 2026 joins The Bronx 2019, Hua Hin 2020 and Prague 2024 in her haul.

"I had a very good beginning of the season, but towards the end of it, I hit the wall, and I didn't really know what to do. I'm really glad that all of us just stuck through and worked really hard, tried every single thing that we could to get me back on track. I'm really glad we managed to find it," Linette concluded.

--IANS

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