Tennis player Irina Begu

Irina Begu had a good run in the Rome tournament

Florin Orban, 17.05.2016, 12:58

The tennis tournament in Rome has again brought Romanian tennis in the spotlight.. Irina Camelia Begu reached the semi-finals of the womens singles, a competition offering 2.4 million euros in prize money. For her remarkable performance, we have designated Irina Begu Athlete of the Week on RRI.

In the Rome tournament, Irina Begu played Margarita Gasparyan of Russia in the first round, whom she defeated 6-3, 6-nil. In the second round, Begu grabbed a spectacular win against fourth-seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-3, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Begu played Daria Kasatkina of Russia, whom she defeated easily 6-1, 6-4. In the semifinals Irina Begu knocked out Misaki Doi of Japan, 6-2, 7-6. In the semi-finals however Irina Begu couldnt beat Serena Williams of US, the number one seed who eventually won the tournament.

Irina Camelia Begu was born in Bucharest on August 26, 1990. In 2006 she obtained her first notable performance, winning the European title in the under-16 competition. She then climbed steadily in the WTA womens singles rankings. In 2011 she was ranked 38 in WTA standings. Begu then had a poor spell, losing games and her ranking. In 2013 she was ranked 124. The next year Begu made a spectacular comeback, with good performances in singles and doubles events. In 2015 she was ranked 31st in the WTA singles and 30th in doubles standings. After her good run in Rome, Irina Begu is now ranked 28th in WTA singles and 37th in the doubles.

(Translated by V. Palcu)