Wakana Sonobe won her first Junior Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open on Saturday, making some history for her country of Japan in the process.

No.4 seed Sonobe triumphed over No.6 seed Kristina Penickova of the United States 6-0, 6-1 in 54 minutes in the final on Rod Laver Arena. With the victory, Sonobe becomes the first player from Japan to win the girls’ singles title at the Australian Open.

Left-handed Sonobe is also the first Japanese player to win any Junior Grand Slam girls’ singles title since 1969, when Kazuko Sawamatsu won both Junior Roland Garros and Junior Wimbledon. Sonobe already came close last year when she finished as Junior US Open runner-up.

Sonobe, who turned 17 years old last week, survived a nail-biter in the first round, when she squeaked past Chinese qualifier Zhang Ruien 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(8). After that, it was smooth sailing for Sonobe, who did not drop a set for the remainder of the singles tournament.

Sonobe came into the final with a 2-0 record against 15-year-old Penickova, and she continued to have the upper hand. Sonobe used superb backhands to break Penickova three times in the first set, and the Japanese player also fended off three break points in the second game of the match.

Penickova got on the board with a hold for 2-1, but Sonobe was not derailed, saving break point in the next game, then easing to victory. Sonobe converted her first championship point with a winning volley — her 14th winner of the match to Penickova’s six.

Penickova will still head back to the States as a Junior Grand Slam champion. She and her twin sister Annika won the Australian Open girls’ doubles title on Friday, defeating No.2 seeds Emerson Jones of Australia and Hannah Klugman of Great Britain 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

The 6th-seeded Penickova twins needed 63 minutes to race through the doubles final, converting six of their 11 break points. The American siblings only dropped one set in their run through the doubles draw, to the 5th-seeded Kovackova sisters of the Czech Republic in the semifinals.