Sports Update
Sorana Cîrstea won the doubles title at the Linz tennis tournament, partnering with China's Shuai Zhang
Florin Orban, 14.04.2026, 13:50
Romanian tennis players were among the stars of the WTA 500 tournament in Linz, which offered prize money totalling 1,049,000 euros. Sorana Cîrstea won the doubles title alongside Shuai Zhang. In the final, the Romanian-Chinese pair defeated the Czech duo Jesika Malečková – Miriam Skoch, 6-3, 6-2. Thanks to this performance, Sorana climbed 14 spots in the world doubles rankings, where she now holds the 40th position. In singles, she climbed to No. 26 after reaching the quarterfinals in Linz. Elena Gabriela Ruse went even further in the singles event of the Austrian tournament, reaching the semi-finals of a WTA 500 tournament for the first time. In the WTA rankings, she has now climbed from 87th to 61st place. The other Romanian in the top 100 of the world rankings, Jaqueline Cristian, remains at 33rd, the highest ranking of her career so far.
In the third game of the Erste Liga regional ice hockey finals, ACSH Gheorgheni defeated Corona Braşov 4-3 in overtime on Monday at home. After three games in the final, the team from Harghita leads 2-1. Tuesday sees the fourth game, also at Remetea Ice Arena. The final is being played under a “best-of-seven” format.
In the Adriatic League men’s basketball competition, during the Top 8 phase, U-BT Cluj Napoca was defeated in Belgrade by Red Star, 86–76. Australian Mitchell Creek led the Cluj team with 22 points and 5 rebounds. In the standings, U-BT is in 5th place. In the final game of the Top 8 phase before the quarterfinals, the Romanian champions will face Buducnost Podgorica on April 19 in Cluj-Napoca.
In the Romanian Super League derby, in the fourth round of the playoffs, Universitatea Cluj defeated Universitatea Craiova 4-0 on Monday and pulled ahead at the top of the standings, now holding a 3-point lead over their rivals from Oltenia. Also on Monday, in Bucharest, Rapid and FC Argeş played to a 0-0 draw. On Sunday, in Cluj, the match between CFR and Dinamo ended in a 1-1 draw. In the relegation playoffs, on Friday in Sibiu, Hermannstadt defeated Farul Constanţa 1-0. On Saturday, UTA defeated FC Botoşani 3-1 in Arad, while FCSB defeated Oţelul Galaţi 4-0 in Bucharest. On Sunday, Petrolul Ploieşti won 2-1, away from home, against Unirea Slobozia, and Csikszereda won 1-0 against Metaloglobus in Clinceni. (MI)
