The win sends Cîrstea into the last 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament and marks her first career victory against a player ranked world No. 1.

A Slow Start, Then a Major Turnaround

Sabalenka began the match strongly and looked in control after taking the opening set 6-2. The Belarusian also moved ahead early in the second set, but Cîrstea gradually found her rhythm and started to turn the match into a physical and mental battle.

The Romanian became more aggressive from the baseline, reduced her errors and forced Sabalenka into longer exchanges. From that point, the momentum shifted. Cîrstea took the second set 6-3 and pushed the match into a decider.

Cîrstea Holds Her Nerve in the Final Set

The third set delivered the tension expected from a match against the top seed. Sabalenka fought to stay alive and levelled the score at 5-5, but Cîrstea remained composed in the decisive moments.

At 36, in what has been reported as her final season on the WTA Tour, the Romanian showed experience, patience and courage under pressure. She closed out the match 7-5, completing a memorable comeback on one of tennis’s biggest clay-court stages.

A Statement Win for Romanian Tennis

For Cîrstea, the result is more than a place in the next round. It is one of the defining wins of her long career and a reminder of her ability to challenge the very best players in the world.

For Romanian tennis, the victory stands out not only because of the scoreline, but because of the opponent, the setting and the manner of the comeback. Beating Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and top seed in Rome, gives the result genuine weight ahead of the final stretch before Roland Garros.

Cîrstea will face Linda Noskova in the next round, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

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Simona was invited to the Miami Open following a drastic reduction of the initial 4-year suspension ban. Organizers offered her a wild card; her first match was against the Spanish Paula Badosa on Tuesday, March 19.

Simona Halep raced through the first set and seemed in excellent shape. Yet, those 19 months of her off the tennis court hindered her from maintaining that level, and she lost 1-6 6-4 6-3.

Simona: Today Will Always Feel Like A Victory!

Yet, apart from the two grand slam wins, her return was the best thing that ever happened to her. She posted on her Instagram: Today will always feel like a victory! The post gathered 10K likes in just a few hours.

Despite losing the first game, Simona proves to have an excellent, positive mindset. It’s all she needs to win titles again with the help of her Romanian fans, who came to Miami to see their favourite player again.

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The play-off between Romania and Serbia was in Kraljevo, Serbia, but the home team didn’t take advantage of playing in front of their fans. It was 0-2 after the first day, and the following matches haven’t made any difference.

After the two victories on Friday (achieved by Gabriela Ruse, 2-0, with Mia Ristic and Jaqueline Cristian, 2-0, with Aleksandra Krunic) and the success on Saturday (achieved by Jaqueline Cristian, 2-1, in front of Lolei Radivojevic), the “doubles” team of Romania, consisting of the pair Monica Niculescu (944 WTA) and Anca Todoni (250 WTA), won against the couple Katarina Kozarov / Aleksandra Krunic with a score of 2-0 (6-1, 7-6).

Romania and all the other winning nation teams will compete in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers in 2024, with a chance to qualify for next year’s Finals.

In April this year, Romania lost 2-3 at home with Slovenia in the Billie Jean King Cup after having 2-0 on the first day, thus losing the opportunity to go further in the competition to the final tournament.

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Gabriela Ruse had qualified for the Transylvania Open final after a superb victory over the tournament’s fourth seed, Rebeka Masarova. Gabriela defeated Masarova 6-1, 6-4, securing her spot in her third WTA career final, following those in Hamburg and Palermo, both played in 2021.

Tamara Korpatsch became the first player to qualify for the Transylvania Open 2023 final after a swift victory over Eva Lys, this edition’s surprise. Korpatsch defeated Lys 6-4, 6-3, in her most apparent victory in Cluj this week.

Gabriela Ruse, helped by fantastic attendance support, started better than the German and had 3-0. Afterwards, the German player started winning valuable points, taking advantage of Gabriela’s medical condition and her double faults and unforced errors. The game had to be stopped for medical time-outs, as Gabriela needed medical assistance for muscle contraction in her left calf.

Gabriela Ruse suffered from her injury throughout the game, drastically impacting her performance. Even though she seemed to recover in the second set, she couldn’t do more after a sensational week in Cluj.

Gabriela is the second Romanian who reached the Transylvania Open Tournament final after Simona Halep in 2021. The latter lost to Annet Kontaveit in two sets.

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Each time Simona plays in Canada or any other country with a solid Romanian ex-pat community, she feels like playing at home. She even admitted that before the final:

It felt like Romania today. I felt like everyone was supporting me. They sent me a lot of energy. In the tough moments they really pushed me.

Simona Halep in Toronto, Canada

Simona Halep seemed to have regained her former stamina and dominated her opponent. There were some unforced errors during the match, but the way she played thrilled the audience.

Simona advanced to the final after defeating Jessica Pegula of the United States 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. On the other hand, the Brazilian advanced to the final after defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6 (9).

After the final, Simona re-entered WTA Top 10. Precisely, Halep gets to 6 in WTA from Monday, August 15. This is quite a performance since she changed her coach to Patrick Mouratouglou from Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, who formerly coached Serena Williams.

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On the night of July 24 in Palermo, Italy, the WTA 250 tournament was won by Irina Begy after defeating Lucia Bronzetti in a match that lasted an hour and a half, 6-2, 6-2.

Irina Begu’s qualification to the final game, from the night of Saturday to Sunday, was exhausting. She defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a game that ended after midnight on Saturday into Sunday. Irina Begu, the sixth favourite, won dramatically after three hours and 12 minutes of playing in a high temperature and humidity.

Thus, Irina Begu reached a new WTA single final in her career, which she won, she became the first Romanian player to win the Palermo trophy after Irina Sparlea won this singles tournament in 1994 and 1995.

Irina Begu now has five WTA titles won, after those in Tashkent (2012), Seoul (2015), Florianopolis (2016) and Bucharest (2017). Irina Begu also played in finals in Budapest, Marbella (both in 2011), Moscow (2014) and Cleveland (2021).

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Simona wins at Veronika Kudermetova to secure the first title in 2022 with 6-2, 6-3. After the game, she said Darren Cahill, her former coach, who attended the final round, was like her family.

The Romanian player got 280 WTA points to secure the 15th position in the ranking. She withdraws from the tournament in Sidney but prepares for the Australian Open.

After the Nole Djokovic scandal, the controversial tournament is due to start on January 17.

The post Simona Halep Wins Melbourne Summer Set 1 ahead of Australian Open appeared first on Valahia.News.

Mutua Madrid Open is just one of the Romanian former tennis player Ion Tiriac’s investments in sports. And, as it sometimes happens, the ATP tournament was riddled with controversy, partly because of the Romanian billionaire.

The Blue Clay controversy

Mutua Madrid Open is the very tournament to spark the blue clay controversy. In 2012, following Ion Tiriac, the organizers used the (in)famous blue clay for that particular tournament. The billionaire argued this color helps the viewers compared to the regular clay.

Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lost on the new surface, claiming the blue clay doesn’t have the same properties as the regular one. This was the end of the blue clay adventure in one of the ATP tournaments.

The controversy didn’t end up here, as journalists said that the actual reason behind that color was the resemblance with the colors of the Spanish insurance giant Mutua Madrileña, the sponsor of that tournament.

The new owner is another giant, IMG. Any of the parts didn’t disclose the sum of the contract. One thing is sure, though: Ion Tiriac will increase his cash deposit, not that would have ever been a problem.

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Due to the points won in Cluj, Kontaveit enters the top 8 WTA and makes it to WTA Finals for the first time.

Simona Halep, one of the favorites, didn’t stand a chance against the Estonian player. Following the defeat, Simona Halep drops to 22 in WTA. Also, she ends the year with no WTA tournament won.

Kontaveit also went home with €23,548 in prize money for winning the final, while Halep earned €13,224.

The post Anett Kontaveit Wins Transylvania Open, Reaches WTA Finals for the First Time appeared first on Valahia.News.

Players like Simona Halep, Anett Kontaveit, Emma Raducanu, Jil Teichmann, Ajla Tomljanovic, Marta Kostyuk, Irina Begu and Anheilina Kalinina play at the tournament.

The most awaited duels will be between the favorite from the first round, Simona Halep (19 WTA) who plays versus Gabriela Rousse (83 WTA), while the second match is between Irina Begu (56 WTA) and Irina Barra (136 WTA).

Transilvanya Open tournament restrictions

Unfortunately, this year the tournament will take place without spectators according to the new rules proposed by the authorities, which were sent for approval to the Romanian Government.

It is very sad that this decision was taken, to ban the access of spectators, but anything should be done for public health. I am glad to be in Cluj again, to play this tournament. It will not be easy, but I am very happy that I am healthy and fit to play.

Simona Halep on restrictions at Transylvania Open

WTA 250 Transylvania Open Tournament Prizes

Round 1: $ 2675, 1 WTA point
Round 2: $ 3675, 30 WTA points
Quarters: $ 5,800, 60 WTA points
Semifinals: $ 10,100, 110 WTA points
Finalist: $ 16,398, 180 WTA points
Champion: $ 29,200, 280 WTA points

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