In a tightly contested match, Lina Gjorcheska was defeated in the semifinals of the ITF Futures tournament in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, which had a prize pool of $100,000. The Macedonian tennis player was bested by France’s Kristina Mladenovic, a former top-10 player, who won 2-0 in sets with scores of 6-4 and 7-5, completing the match in 104 minutes.

The match saw both players struggling with their first serves, with Mladenovic having a slightly better percentage (58% compared to Gjorcheska’s 44%), which proved crucial. Gjorcheska managed seven breaks out of 12 opportunities, while Mladenovic secured 9 out of 16. Strong winds added to the challenge, complicating play for both competitors.

In the first set, neither player could hold their serve for the first eight games. Gjorcheska held a slim lead at 4-3, but Mladenovic broke her serve in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and then broke again to win the set 6-4. The second set began differently, with Mladenovic taking a three-game lead. Although Gjorcheska fought back to equalize at 5-5, Mladenovic won the next two games to secure the set 7-5 and the match 2-0.

Despite the loss, Gjorcheska earned 100 points, which will likely boost her ranking into the top 200 on the WTA list.