Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea won the TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship Istanbul this past weekend. 

She defeated Belgian Elise Mertens to win her second career title, 13 years after the first one she won in Tashkent in 2008.

The win pushed Cîrstea to the 58th spot in the WTA singles rankings, up from 67th before the tournament. She also won prize money worth USD 29,200.

"I’m very, very happy for this trophy. I did not expect it, to be honest, so probably I’m twice as glad!" 😄

What a week for 🇷🇴 @sorana_cirstea 👏

— wta (@WTA) April 25, 2021

Besides the two titles won in Istanbul and Tashkent, Cîrstea previously played three finals in Budapest (2007), Toronto (2013), and Tashkent (2019).

Last year, Romanian Patricia Ţig won the Istanbul tournament. 

(Photo: STRINGERimages | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com