Sorana Cirstea crowns farewell season with emotional home triumph in Cluj against overwhelmed Raducanu
Sorana Cirstea lifted the trophy on Saturday afternoon against Emma Raducanu
Sorana Cirstea in Dubai (Kamran Jebreili/AP/SIPA)
In a career-defining moment during her final year on the professional tour, 35-year-old Sorana Cirstea captured the Transylvania Open trophy with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory over top seed Emma Raducanu on Saturday afternoon. The victory marks Cirstea’s fourth career WTA singles title and her first on home soil, making her the first Romanian to win this specific event after runner-up finishes by legends like Simona Halep.
Cirstea, the No. 3 seed and world No. 36, delivered a masterclass in aggressive baseline tennis from the opening point. She raced through the first set in a “bagel” performance, conceding zero games to the former US Open champion. While Raducanu briefly showed signs of life in the second set, leveling the score at 2-2 after receiving medical attention for blood pressure and fatigue issues, she ultimately could not sustain the pace against the inspired Romanian. Cirstea concluded the match in just 63 minutes.
“As I said on court, these are the memories I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I love tennis… and I really wanted to play once again here in Cluj in my final season,” Cirstea said in an emotional post-match interview where Simona Halep made an appearance.
Before her historic final, Cirstea navigated a gauntlet of opponents without dropping a single set. Her path included clinical wins over Daria Snigur (6-0, 6-3), defending champion Anastasia Potapova (7-5, 6-4), Tamara Zidansek (6-1, 6-0), and Kamilla Rakhimova (6-4, 6-4).
Raducanu reached her first final since her triumph at the US Open 2021 by surviving a grueling three-set semi-final against Oleksandra Oliynykova that lasted nearly three hours, likely contributing to her visible struggle for energy in the final match.
