Kimberly Birrell won her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the Korea Open after beating Maya Joint in an all-Australian final in Seoul.

The duo were contesting the first WTA singles final by two Australian Open women in nearly a decade as Samantha Stosur and Daria Saville were the last two to achieve the feat at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May 2017.

For Birrell, it was a case of third time is a charm as she had finished runner-up in her two previous top-level finals, as she was beaten in the showpiece matches at the 2024 Japan Women’s Open against Suzan Lamens and the 2025 Chennai Open against Janice Tjen.

Seeded second at the WTA 250 event, the world No 60 produced a clinical display as she defeated Joint – who was looking to win her third career title – 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 23 minutes on the hard courts of the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center.

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Birrell was already assured of reaching a new career-high in the WTA Rankings with her run to the final, but she will get an even bigger boost with her title run while Joint will also enjoy a surge up the rankings.

WTA Ranking Points Earned In Seoul

The 28-year-old Birrell, who had previously peaked at 56 in the rankings, had jumped to No 44 in the Live Rankings ahead of the final, but she has now moved up another three places to No 41 with her title run.

Having started the tournament at No 60, Birrell is set for a 19-place surge to a career-high as she has earned 221 points for her efforts at the Korea Open.

Birrell is now the Australian No 2 behind the 37th-placed Talia Gibson, who can still surge further up the rankings as she will play in the Singapore Open final later on Sunday.

Former world No 28 Joint, meanwhile, had slumped to No 99 following a poor run of form, but she has added 153 points to her rankings, which is good enough for a 24-place jump to No 74.

Prize Money Earned

Birrell had earned $1,003,278 in prize money so far in 2026 before the Korea event while her career tally stood at $3,141,312.

She will add another $37,390 to those totals.

The 20-year-old Joint earned $22,125 for finishing runner-up to add to her 2026 tally of $1,166,551 and career total of $2,520,793.

Both Australians will look to continue their good form this coming week as they are both on the entry list for the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing.