Athlete of the Week: Tennis Player Elena-Gabriela Ruse
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, is currently underway in Melbourne.
Florin Orban, 27.01.2026, 13:45
The Australian Open marks the year’s opening Grand Slam, preceded by smaller tournaments in Australia and New Zealand that help players acclimate to Southern Hemisphere summer conditions, while winter grips Europe and North America. The Melbourne major sets the season’s initial rankings, which hold sway until the second Slam, Roland Garros in June.
This year, three Romanians featured in the main draw: Sorana Cîrstea, Jaqueline Cristian, and Gabriela Ruse, Romania’s current representatives in WTA top 100. Ruse advanced the furthest, bowing out in the round of 16. Her run to the last 32 earned her A$327,750 and 130 WTA points, crowning her Radio Romania International’s Athlete of the Week.
Arriving ranked 79, Gabriela Ruse had qualified for main draws in Brisbane and Adelaide earlier this year but fell in the first round at both. At the Australian Open, she faced Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska (WTA No. 27, 25 years old, three years Ruse’s junior), dispatching her 6-4, 7-5 for a fourth straight win over the Ukrainian.
In round two, Ruse downed Australian Ajla Tomljanović (WTA 78) 6-4, 6-4 without dropping serve. Her campaign ended in round three against 18-year-old Russian sensation Mirra Andreeva (No. 7), who prevailed 6-3, 6-4 after Ruse racked up 44 unforced errors.
Born November 6, 1997, in Bucharest, Elena-Gabriela Ruse took up tennis at the age of 4 with Dinamo Bucharest. Her sole WTA singles title came in Hamburg in 2021; that year, she also reached the Palermo final. She’s since made finals in Cluj-Napoca (2023) and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (2025). Melbourne marked her first third-round appearance at the event—previously exiting in round two in 2022 and 2025, matching her career-best Slam result from the 2024 US Open. (VP)
