Tennis in Romania

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in Romania.[1] The Romanian Tennis Federation (Romanian: Federația Română de Tenis or FRT), a member of ITF, is the sport's national governing body.

History

Tennis was introduced to Romania in the late 19th century by students returning from their time abroad.[2]

Also, the Romania Davis Cup team made the finals of the competition in three editions: 3 (1969, 1971 and 1972) losing each time by the hands of the United States Davis Cup team.

Men's tennis saw its best period during the beginning of the Open Era when Ilie Năstase reached the number 1 ranking in 1973 after winning the US Open in 1972 and the French Open in 1973.

Women's tennis, in particular, has seen tremendous successes both in the 20th and 21st centuries, with the advent of Florența Mihai, Virginia Ruzici, Irina Spîrlea and Simona Halep. Three of these women reached the Top 10 of the WTA rankings in singles, namely Ruzici, Spîrlea and Halep whilst Mihai, Ruzici and Halep reached Grand Slam finals with Ruzici winning the French Open in 1978 and Halep winning the same tournament in 2018.

Tournaments held in Romania on the men's tour every year included Romanian Open from 1993 until 2016. The women have the Bucharest Open held since 2014.

List of Romanian singles tennis players (Open Era only)

Only includes players ranked in the top 100. Bold names indicate currently active players

Men Highest ranking Name Birth Place of Birth Turned pro Titles No. 1 Ilie Năstase 1946 Bucharest 1969 58 No. 13 Andrei Pavel 1974 Constanța 1995 3 No. 26 Victor Hănescu 1981 Bucharest 2000 1 No. 36 Adrian Voinea 1974 Focșani 1993 1 No. 55 Ion Țiriac 1939 Brașov 1968 1 No. 56 Marius Copil 1990 Arad 2008 0 No. 73 Florin Segărceanu 1961 Bucharest 1980 0 No. 74 Răzvan Sabău 1977 Bucharest 1993 0 No. 75 Dinu Pescariu 1974 Bucharest 1990 0 No. 75 Victor Crivoi 1982 Bucharest 2003 0 No. 79 Adrian Ungur 1985 Pitești 2003 0

Women Highest ranking Name Birth Place of Birth Turned pro Titles No. 1 Simona Halep 1991 Constanța 2006 19 No. 7 Irina Spîrlea 1974 Bucharest 1990 4 No. 8 Virginia Ruzici 1955 Câmpia Turzii 1975 12 No. 15 Ruxandra Dragomir 1972 Bucharest 1990 4 No. 21 Sorana Cîrstea 1990 Târgoviște 2004 1 No. 22 Irina-Camelia Begu 1990 Bucharest 2005 4 No. 26 Alexandra Dulgheru 1989 Bucharest 2004 2 No. 28 Monica Niculescu 1987 Slatina 2002 3 No. 29 Florența Mihai 1955 Bucharest 1975 1 No. 30 Mihaela Buzărnescu 1988 Bucharest 2004 0 No. 36 Mariana Simionescu 1956 Târgu Neamț 1974 2 No. 49 Lucia Romanov-Stark 1959 Bucharest 1979 0 No. 53 Raluca Olaru 1989 Bucharest 2003 0 No. 54 Edina Gallovits-Hall 1984 Timișoara 1999 0 No. 59 Ana Bogdan 1992 Sinaia 2007 0 No. 59 Cătălina Cristea 1975 Bucharest 1990 0 No. 59 Alexandra Cadanțu 1990 Bucharest 2005 0 No. 68 Raluca Sandu 1980 Bucharest 1994 0 No. 68 Andreea Mitu 1991 Bucharest 2006 0 No. 83 Patricia Maria Țig 1994 Caransebeș 2009 0

List of Romanian doubles tennis players (Open Era only)

Only includes players ranked in the top 100 or that have won at least one ATP or WTA title. Bold names indicate currently active players

Men Highest ranking Name Birth Place of Birth Turned pro Titles No. 2 Horia Tecău 1985 Constanța 2003 34 No. 7 Florin Mergea 1985 Craiova 2003 7 No. 10 Ilie Năstase 1946 Bucharest 1969 45 No. 18 Andrei Pavel 1974 Constanța 1995 6 No. 19 Ion Țiriac 1939 Brașov 1968 22 No. 49 Florin Segărceanu 1961 Bucharest 1980 1 No. 92 Victor Hănescu 1981 Bucharest 2000 2 No. 94 Adrian Ungur 1985 Pitești 2003 1 No. 97 Gabriel Trifu 1975 Bucharest 1994 1 No. 114 Dinu Pescariu 1974 Bucharest 1990 1 No. 159 Mihnea-Ion Năstase 1967 Bucharest 1986 1 No. 182 Marius Copil 1990 Arad 2008 1

Women Highest ranking Name Birth Place of Birth Turned pro Titles No. 11 Monica Niculescu 1987 Slatina 2002 8 No. 16 Irina Spîrlea 1974 Bucharest 1990 6 No. 21 Ruxandra Dragomir 1972 Bucharest 1990 5 No. 22 Irina-Camelia Begu 1990 Bucharest 2005 9 No. 32 Raluca Olaru 1989 Bucharest 2003 9 No. 35 Sorana Cîrstea 1990 Târgoviște 2006 4 No. 40 Andreea Ehritt-Vanc 1973 Timișoara 1992 2 No. 40 Cătălina Cristea 1975 Bucharest 1990 1 No. 41 Mihaela Buzărnescu 1988 Bucharest 2004 1 No. 41 Alexandra Dulgheru 1989 Bucharest 2005 0 No. 56 Irina Bara 1995 Ștei 2010 0 No. 63 Edina Gallovits-Hall 1984 Timișoara 1999 3 No. 69 Andreea Mitu 1991 Bucharest 2006 2 No. 70 Virginia Ruzici 1955 Câmpia Turzii 1975 16 No. 71 Simona Halep 1991 Constanța 2006 1 No. 79 Elena Bogdan 1992 Craiova 2009 1 No. 101 Alexandra Cadanțu 1990 Bucharest 2005 1 N/A Florența Mihai 1955 Bucharest 1975 1

See also

• Sport in Romania
• Romania Davis Cup team
• Romania Fed Cup team

References

1. "What's the most popular sport in Romania?". CESport.eu. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
2. "ISTORIA SI ORIGINILE TENISULUI". atptennis.ro. Retrieved 6 August 2017.

External links

• Romanian Tennis Federation (Official site)