Emma Raducanu has enjoyed an outstanding past week, but was brought crashing back down to earth by its conclusion.
After all, having breezed through the bulk of the draw in Romania, she was outclassed in the final.
Hometown hero Sorana Cirstea laid siege to Emma Raducanu’s game from the first minute, and in the end snatched the title with a dominant scoreline of 6-0, 6-2.
The 22-year-old sought to find the positives, but also found time to explain why she had been beaten so convincingly in the final.
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Asked how she was feeling at her press conference after such a crushing loss, she admitted: “It was obviously really tough.”
The British number one alluded to some health issues that had slowly gotten worse just as the final grew closer: “I think Sorana played a great match for sure, and I’ve kind of… yeah, just been kind of dealing with some health… just not feeling great this week and then yesterday was obviously a battle. I felt quite tired today and just need to try and rest as best as possible.
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“But, I mean, I couldn’t do anything either against Sorana today. You know, she was playing incredible, and she has been all week, and I can’t sing her praises enough about how good she’s been, how nice of a person she is, and, yeah, it’s just great to have someone like her around on the tour.”
Then, speaking to Sky Sports, Raducanu shed a little more light on her ailment, adding: “I’ve just been a bit ill this week and then yesterday’s match was so long and it just took it out of me, so for today I just felt like energy-wise that I didn’t really have much energy and it was really difficult but again, Sorana played so well.
“I had no chance if I wasn’t 100%, and even if I was 100%, she was still playing incredible tennis. So, all credit to her, she really deserves this one.”
Andy Murray’s former coach found the positives in Raducanu’s loss in the final though, after a strong week with a sour end.
A great week for British tennis
Although Raducanu lost in the final of the Transylvania Open, this still represented an outstanding week for her, reaching such a stage for the first time since her 2021 US Open triumph.
And, elsewhere, Katie Boulter won the title in Ostrava, marking the first time in history that two British women had reached the finals of separate events in the same week.
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Sonay Kartal enjoyed her own success too, qualifying for the Qatar Open.
Then, on the men’s side, Britain’s Davis Cup team welcomed Jack Draper back from injury and watched him cruise through his first match since the US Open last year, as they won the tie over Norway with ease.
