Fiona Ferro has been crowned champion of the Palermo Open as the WTA Tour returned for the first time in five months. 

The 23 year-old from France beat fourth seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in straight sets 6-2 7-5 in the Sicilian capital.

The world No 53 broke Kontaveit's serve five times and struck 51 winners in just under one hour and 45 minutes.

She said afterwards: "I think it was my best match of the week.

“I was feeling relaxed. I don't know why because it was a final! I wasn't really feeling pressure. It was a tough match because she's a really consistent player who doesn't give you too many points. 

"I had a good intensity throughout the whole match, I didn't miss a lot, made a lot of winners, so I'm really happy to have the trophy with me.”

Ferro secured her second WTA title of her career in Palermo, the first being the Swiss Open last year.

She added: “This title means a lot, especially after five tough months of practice. I was already feeling so happy just to be back on court and competing, so this is an even nicer way to finish the week with the win.”

It was the first professional tennis event to be staged after the coronavirus pandemic brought the sport to a halt.