Ema Raducanu’s hopes of winning her first WTA Tour title ended when she lost to veteran Solana Cirstea in the Transylvania Open final, but Katie Boulter was able to claim the title at the Ostrava Open.
Raducanu had a chance to prove himself as a true force on the WTA Tour by winning his first tournament since his incredible success at the 2021 US Open.
However, her hopes were dashed with a 6-0 6-2 defeat against Cluj-Napoca. There, support was evenly split between home favorite Cirstea and Raducanu, whose father is Romanian.
Boulter won her fourth WTA title with an impressive 5-7 6-2 6-1 victory over German Tamara Kolpacz in the Czech Republic.
“I want to thank the people. They made me feel really at home this week. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t do my best today. But congratulations to Solana as well. You’ve had a great week. I think you’re playing great tennis. I don’t know if it’s my last tournament here in Cluj, but I would have done my best. Congratulations on everything,” Raducanu said.
“Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve given a speech like this. I would like to thank Alexis (coach Kanter) and the people of my home country for supporting me over the last few years. It’s been four or five years since the last final. It means a lot. I’m really happy to have it here in Cluj.”
After defeating Greet Minen, Raducanu recovered from a 5-0 deficit in the first set to defeat Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan. She then defeated Poland’s Maja Chwalinska in straight sets to advance to the semi-finals.
She was physically shattered after a nearly three-hour battle with Ukraine’s Oleksandra Olnikova in the semifinals, requiring treatment for a problem in her right shoulder.
The 23-year-old looked mentally exhausted from the start, ultimately saving five break points but dropping her first service game and losing the first set without winning a game in just 29 minutes.
After losing four consecutive service games in the second set to fall 2-0, Raducanu broke Cirstea and hoped to win the first game, but he quickly collapsed into his seat, seemingly exhausted, after which his blood pressure was taken by the tournament doctor.
After recovering, she held serve for the first time and tied the score at 2-2, but the 35-year-old Cirstea, who is in her 20th year as a professional and playing her final season on the WTA tour, regained her composure and won the next three games in a row to take a 5-2 lead, so she could not maintain the momentum.
Raducanu seemed to have nothing left in the tank and was unsteady on his feet. She served and stayed in the match, and in the next game she dropped her serve for the sixth time to give Cirstea the title.
The British player is looking forward to the Qatar Open this week and will face qualifier Camila Osorio in the first round on Monday.
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Raducanu admits she ran out of energy in the final, talks about how LTA coach Alexis Kanter affected her game
Commentator Jonathan Overend says on Sky Sports Tennis:
“It was an unforgettable day for Emma Raducanu. A really tough semi-final of 2 hours and 48 minutes meant she had very few offers today. Her best tennis was when she was losing matches. She seemed to know how she had to play today, but the power coming from Cirstea was too strong for her to get on the board.”
“Raducanu needed a match in the bank.”
Raducanu had a successful week in Cluj under the guidance of LTA coach Alexis Kanter
Miles McLagan, former coach of Laura Robson and Andy Murray:
“It was a combination of problems. It was a perfect start for Sorana Cirstea. She came out with a sense of purpose, full of aggression and it worked. There were some moments where Raducanu could have gone into the game and tried a little harder, and it could have put a little more stress on Cirstea, but even if the first eight games went by in a flash, she got back to 2-2 in the second game, but that fifth game was important.”
“Maybe things would have been different if Cirstea hadn’t been able to get over herself? It seems like it wasn’t fatigue, it was some kind of physical problem for Raducanu at the end. She wasn’t chasing the ball, but it was a positive week. Whenever you go to a final, you forget about the back-to-backs. I just feel that’s what Raducanu needs.”
“There were so many injuries, so many coaching changes and turnovers, so there was a little bit of consistency and belief. You just have to bank those games to start trusting your body and trusting your decision-making in tougher situations. Then once the dust settles, we’ll see a positive result.”
Brilliant Bolter wins in Ostrava
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Highlights of Ostrava Open final, Katie Boulter vs. Tamara Kolpacz
Boulter scored a come-from-behind victory over Colpacz to win his first title in more than 15 months.
After dropping a close first set, Boulter fought back brilliantly to defeat the German and win, moving him up 36 places to 84th in the world rankings after a disappointing 2025.
The 29-year-old British player lost four straight from the end of the first set to the start of the second, but won 12 of the next 15 games to claim his first title since winning the Nottingham Open for the second time in 2024.
Boulter, who is set to marry Australian world number six Alex de Minaur this year, said: “It’s an incredible feeling. I’ve been waiting for this marriage for a long time. It’s been a really tough year, I’ve been working really hard and I feel like I got the reward I deserved after so much effort.”
“I’m really excited. I just don’t want to stop working. I have a great year ahead of me. This is my wedding year and no matter what happens, it’s going to be the best year of my life.”
Boulter teamed up with Maria Sharapova’s former coach, American Michael Joyce, at the turn of the year and lost just two sets throughout the entire tournament in the Czech Republic.
Boulter won in just two hours, securing his second hard court title after San Diego in 2024. She also won two titles on grass at Nottingham in 2023 and 2024.
Boulter has found it difficult to win at tour level since last summer’s Wimbledon, tearing apart the kidnappers at last year’s final tournament in Hong Kong.
Leading 3-2 in the second set against Colpacz, Boulter won the next five games to take the second set 6-2 and take a 2-0 lead in the deciding match.
Kolpacz held his serve and led 2-1, but Boulter was in complete control and won the next four games, again defeating his opponent 5-1 and sealing the victory with his second championship point.
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“It’s really good to see when the vaulters are out in front.”
Katie Boulter wins first title since 2024
Miles McLagan said on Sky Sports Tennis:
“What a great moment for her to be able to sit there and appreciate what she’s done. It’s probably a step towards definitely getting her ranking up to where it can be. She’s playing a very good game. We saw that today and I think she’s taking the lead. , was able to come forward and dominate. Hopefully she and her team can build that confidence and clarity because it’s really good to see when she’s on the front foot. She’s trying to play the way she closed it out.”
At the Abu Dhabi Open, Czech qualifier Sara Bejrek defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in the final to claim her first WTA Tour victory.
The 20-year-old will move from 101st place to the top 50 after the best week of her career.
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