Emma Raducanu’s hopes of a first title since her US Open triumph in 2021 ended in disappointment after she was trounced by Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the Transylvania Open final.
The British number one, who was the top seed, was second best throughout the match. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Cirstea surged to a 6-0 6-2 victory in front of her home crowd.
Raducanu, 23, was on court for nearly three hours in her semi-final win over Oleksandra Oliynykova on Friday. However, against third seed Cirstea she lasted just an hour and three minutes.
She managed to level the second set at 2-2 after having her blood pressure taken. Still, the mini revival was not enough to stop Cirstea claiming the fourth WTA Tour title.
“I’ve already been battling a bit of a chest infection, but that match took it out of me extra,” Raducanu told BBC Sport. “So today, I was pretty gassed from the start.”
“But I would much rather have this situation than have lost that match and not played today,” she added. “So for me, zero complaints.”
On the purple court in Cluj-Napoca, Raducanu looked tired and lacking energy after her valiant effort on Friday. Her opponent, Cirstea was sharper from the off and broke early.
The Romanian breezed through the rest of the first set to take it with a bagel. Soon after, she was 2-0 up in the second set before Raducanu got on the board.
Raducanu sat down slowly and called for medical attention, receiving words of encouragement from her trainer, and it briefly looked like the final might end prematurely. However, she carried on and took the next game to draw level. Cirstea, though, regained control quickly and never looked back.
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Fatigue, fight, and a familiar search for momentum
A double fault by Raducanu at championship point ended any lingering hope, meaning the Briton missed out on a second senior trophy.
“Today I didn’t feel so good on the court,” Raducanu admitted afterward. “But I also have to say, Sorana played an incredible match.”
While she is not used to playing four matches in a row, Raducanu said the run was encouraging. She described her journey to the final as “a step in the right direction”.
Raducanu had plenty of support in Romania, as her father Ion is from Bucharest. Moreover, she said the crowd made her “feel at home this week”. Yet securing her first silverware since that magical night in New York remains difficult, as both injuries and inconsistency have slowed her progress on tour.
In January, she split with coach Francis Roig after the Australian Open. Notably, he was the ninth person to coach Raducanu since 2021.
She is next scheduled to play the WTA 1,000 event in Qatar starting Sunday. There, she faces Colombia’s Camila Osorio in round one.
Tags: Emma Raducanu, Sorana Cirstea, Transylvania Open, Cluj-Napoca, Camila Osorio, WTA, Oleksandra Oliynykova, Francis Roig.
