Haddad Maia wins in Birmingham for 2nd straight WTA title

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil has secured back-to-back WTA titles after Chinese opponent Shuai Zhang retired with an injury trailing 5-4 in the first set of the final. Haddad Maia was preparing to serve for the first set when Zhang walked slowly to the net and hugged her opponent. It was not immediately apparent what the injury was. Haddad Maia hadn’t won a senior title before arriving in England to play the Nottingham Open last week. Now she has two in her collection and both have come on grass courts. The unseeded Haddad Maia and the eighth-seeded Zhang went into the final having won semifinal matches on Sunday morning.