Emma Raducanu is into her second career final, having battled through a gritty three-set semi-final match against Oleksandra Oliynykova.
She will now face hometown hero Sorana Cîrstea, in a clash that even the Romanian crowd couldn’t have scripted any better.
It took everything the British number one had to overcome her Ukrainian opponent yesterday, who sliced and lobbed from all over the court, mixing in some thumping winners too.
Oliynykova’s tennis was far from sparkling, but it was certainly effective for large periods.
Emma Raducanu has since spoken following that win, touching on her opponent, the turning points in the match, and her fitness after she was forced to take a medical time-out in her semi-final.
Emma Raducanu speaks after reaching her first final since the 2021 US Open
Chatting with reporters at her press conference, she began by giving credit to Oliynykova: “I mean, what a match, it was a proper battle, such a tricky opponent, just made so many balls, played in a way that, you know, isn’t very common, you don’t face that very much.
“It’s such a challenge to play, especially as the balls get older and it gets a bit slower, it gets harder to put the ball away and, yeah, she’s incredibly crafty and what an athlete and competitor, so I’m really, really happy to have come through that.”=
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Then, referencing the two key turning points, Raducanu first noted: “Yeah, I mean, I think the key moment was… There were two. I think it was 3-1 in the second set where I was in control, and I played a bit of a sloppy game to return and she held. But you know if I go 4-1 up there, you don’t know how the match is gonna go.”
She then added: “And then the next one, I think, turning point, I mean for sure the 2-1 game when I’ve just been broken, I just felt like all the momentum was going her way. I think I lost eight points in a row, and I just felt like I couldn’t put the ball anywhere because she was there and she was going to hit a winner or she was going to hit something that I didn’t know what to do with.
“So that was a really big break at 2-1, and it gave me a little bit of hope.
“And then and then I managed to hold serve and get new balls, and I really think the new balls helped in the third set because shots that, you know, she was making with the old fluffy ones, they were just a bit late and she was missing, so and it was travelling a bit too far, so that helped as well.”
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Raducanu concluded by explaining her medical time-out, and if she had any issues to be concerned about: “Yeah, I mean, now, yeah, I feel pretty tired.
“Obviously, I played like three hours and really, really tough physical match, moved so much, but, you know, I think it’s, when you’re playing four matches in a row it’s not something that I’ve done much, but, you know, to be feeling your body, to be feeling the pain, I guess, of the sweet rewards of being in the final, I think it makes it worth it.
“It’s just a bit of wear and tear from playing back-to-back matches. So I’ll take it.”
Every semi-final of Emma Raducanu’s career
Whilst this marks the second tour-level final of Raducanu’s career, she has had plenty of opportunities before this run in Romania.
In fact, yesterday was actually the fifth semi-final she had featured in.
Naturally, her first came at the 2021 US Open, where she famously beat Maria Sakkari to set up a clash with Leylah Fernandez in the final.
She would win that title, and her life has not been the same since.
Raducanu backed that up the following year in Seoul with another semi-final, but lost, starting a semi-final losing streak that has spanned nearly five years.
She reached that stage in Nottingham in 2024, and in Washington last year, before doing the same yesterday at the Transylvania Open, but actually winning this time.
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