Irina Spîrlea (born 26 March 1974) is a retired tennis player from Romania who turned professional in 1990. She won four singles and six doubles titles. Spîrlea reached her career-high ranking on the WTA Tour on 13 October 1997, when she became No. 7 in the world. She retired in 2000.
Personal life Spîrlea married Massimiliano Pace, her former coach, in 2001, and has a son, Tommaso, born in 2002, as well as a younger daughter, Francesca.Article in Romanian
Career Irina Spîrlea is one of the more successful tennis players from Romania, being one of only three women to have reached the top 10 (the others being Virginia Ruzici and Simona Halep.)Article in Romanian Her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was a semifinal at the US Open in 1997. She won the WTA Newcomer of the Year award in 1994.
In 1996, Spîrlea became the first player in the history of the Women's Tennis Association to receive a match default for conduct when she swore at an official in Italian during a match played in Palermo, Italy.The Enquirer – This article is no longer availableCNN/SI – US Open Player Profiles
Spîrlea was involved in a bumping incident with Venus Williams during a changeover in the semifinals of the 1997 US Open. Spîrlea collided with Williams near the net post while changing ends, and did not move sideways. Spîrlea went on to lose the match 6–7, 6–4, 6–7 in a third-set tiebreak, after holding two match points, at 6–4 and 6–5 in the tie breaker. Williams' father accused Spîrlea of racism, and later called her "an ugly white turkey".sportsillustrated.cnn.com Spîrlea accused Williams of arrogance, saying in a press conference following the match, "I'm not going to move. She never tries to turn (...) She thinks she's the fucking Venus Williams." Spîrlea subsequently had to pay $5,000 fine for using an obscenity. At the following Grand Slam tournament, the 1998 Australian Open, Spîrlea was the first opponent of Venus' sister, Serena Williams in the main draw and lost in three sets.
WTA career finals Singles: 10 (4 titles, 6 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–0)Tier I (0–2)Tier II (1–0)Tier III, IV & V (3–4) Titles by surfaceHard (0–2)Grass (0–0)Clay (4–3)Carpet (0–1) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss0–1Sep 1993Sapporo, JapanCarpet (i) Linda Wild4–6, 3–6Loss0–2Apr 1994Taranto Trophy, ItalyClay Julie Halard-Decugis2–6, 3–6Win1–2Jul 1994Palermo International, ItalyClay Brenda Schultz-McCarthy6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–5)Loss1–3Jan 1995Jakarta Open, IndonesiaHard Sabine Hack6–2, 6–7(6–8), 4–6Win2–3Jul 1995Palermo International, ItalyClay Sabine Hack7–6(7–1), 6–2Win3–3Apr 1996Amelia Island Championships, U.S.Clay Mary Pierce6–7(7–9), 6–4, 6–3Loss3–4Mar 1997Indian Wells Masters, U.S.Hard Lindsay Davenport2–6, 1–6Loss3–5Mar 1998Family Circle Cup, U.S.Clay Amanda Coetzer3–6, 4–6Win4–5May 1998Internationaux de Strasbourg, FranceClay Julie Halard-Decugis7–6(7–5), 6–3Loss4–6Apr 1999Egypt ClassicClay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario1–6, 0–6
Doubles: 13 (6 titles, 7 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–0)Tier I (1–1)Tier II (2–2)Tier III, IV & V (3–4) Titles by surface'Hard (1–1)Grass (0–0)Clay (2–3)Carpet (3–3) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin1–0Apr 1994Taranto Trophy, ItalyClay Noëlle van Lottum Sandra Cecchini Isabelle Demongeot6–3, 2–6, 6–1Win2–0Jan 1995Jakarta Open, IndonesiaHard Claudia Porwik Laurence Courtois Nancy Feber6–2, 6–3Loss2–1Apr 1995Bol Ladies Open, CroatiaClay Laura Golarsa Mercedes Paz Rene Simpson5–7, 2–6Loss2–2Jan 1996Pan Pacific Open, JapanCarpet (i) Mariaan de Swardt Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva6–7(7–9), 3–6Win3–2May 1996Italian OpenClay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Gigi Fernández Martina Hingis6–4, 3–6, 6–3Loss3–3Nov 1996Bank of the West Classic, U.S.Carpet (i) Nathalie Tauziat Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández1–6, 3–6Loss3–4May 1997Madrid Open, SpainClay Inés Gorrochategui Mary Joe Fernández Arantxa Sánchez Vicario3–6, 2–6Loss3–5Nov 1998Sparkassen Cup Leipzig, GermanyCarpet (i) Manon Bollegraf Elena Likhovtseva Ai Sugiyama3–6, 7–6(7–2), 1–6Loss3–6Jan 1999Brisbane International, AustraliaHard Kristine Kunce Corina Morariu Larisa Neiland3–6, 3–6Win4–6Feb 1999Paris Indoor, FranceCarpet (i) Caroline Vis Elena Likhovtseva Ai Sugiyama7–5, 3–6, 6–3Loss4–7Apr 1999Egypt ClassicClay Caroline Vis Laurence Courtois Arantxa Sánchez Vicario7–5, 1–6, 6–7(7–9)Win5–7Sep 1999Luxembourg OpenCarpet (i) Caroline Vis Tina Križan Katarina Srebotnik6–1, 6–2Win6–7Oct 1999Generali Ladies Linz, AustriaCarpet (i) Caroline Vis Tina Križan Larisa Neiland6–4, 6–3
ITF Circuit finals Legend $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments
Singles (3–1) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1. 24 September 1990 Mali Lošinj, Yugoslavia Clay Ruxandra Dragomir 3–6, 1–6Win 2. 3 June 1991 Milan, Italy Clay Agnès Zugasti 6–4, 7–5Win 3. 3 February 1992 Jakarta, Indonesia Clay Ann Devries 6–3, 6–2Win 4. 14 June 1993 Brindisi, Italy Clay Petra Kamstra 6–1, 5–7, 6–3
Doubles (5–8) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1. 13 August 1990 Rebecq, Belgium Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Els Callens Caroline Wuillot 4–6, 2–6Win 2. 20 August 1990 Koksijde, Belgium Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Erda Crous Lucie Ludvigová 6–1, 2–6, 6–3Win 3. 17 September 1990 Rabac, Yugoslavia Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Katarína Studeníková Gabriela Vesela 1–6, 6–3, 6–4Loss 4. 24 September 1990 Mali Lošinj, Yugoslavia Clay Anna Mirza Eva Martincová Zdeňka Málková 1–6, 1–6Win 5. 8 October 1990 Bol, Croatia Clay Magdalena Feistel Eva Martincová Zdeňka Málková 4–6, 6–3, 6–1Loss 6. 29 May 1991 Brindisi, Italy Clay Katarína Studeníková Patricia Miller Inés Gorrochategui 1–6, 6–7Loss 7. 29 July 1991 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany Clay Meike Babel Catarina Bernstein Annika Narbe 4–6, 5–7Loss 8. 12 August 1991 Pisticci, Italy Hard Ruxandra Dragomir Justine Hodder Maja Murić 4–6, 6–3, 3–6Loss 9. 3 February 1992 Jakarta, Indonesia Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Nicole Pratt Angie Woolcock 1–6, 0–6Win 10. 28 September 1992 Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy Clay Ann Devries Ginevra Mugnaini Andreea Ehritt-Vanc 6–0, 6–0Loss 11. 22 November 1992 Nottingham, United Kingdom Carpet (i) Ruxandra Dragomir Els Callens Elena Pampoulova 6–7(3–7), 4–6Win 12. 30 November 1992 Le Havre, France Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Angela Kerek Sabine Lohmann 6–3, 7–6Loss 13. 14 June 1993 Brindisi, Italy Clay Angela Kerek Lara Bitter Petra Kamstra 5–7, 6–4, 2–6
Singles performance timeline
Tournament19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–LW%Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAAAA1R4R2RQF1R1R1R0 / 78–7 French OpenAA1RA4R3R4R4R1R3R1R0 / 813–8WimbledonAAAA2R3R2R4R4R1R1R0 / 710–7US OpenAAQ1A1R1R3RSF4R3RA0 / 612–6Win–loss0–00–00–10–04–47–47–415–46–44–40–30 / 2843–28Year-end championshipsTour ChampionshipsAAAAAA1RSFSFAA0 / 34–3Tier I tournamentsTokyoTier IIAAA2R2RQFAA0 / 34–3ChicagoATier IINot Held0 / 00–00%Boca RatonTier IIAATier IINot Held0 / 10–1Indian WellsTier IIF3R2R2R0 / 58–5MiamiAAAA1R2RQFQF2R2R2R0 / 78–7CharlestonAAAA1R3RQF3RF2RA0 / 611–6BerlinAAAAASFA3RQF1R1F0 / 57–5RomeAAQ1ASF3RSFQF3R3R1R0 / 815–8Montreal / TorontoAAAAAA1R1R3R1RA0 / 41–4MoscowTier VNot HeldTier IIIQF1RAA0 / 21–2ZürichTier IIAA1R2R2RSF2RA0 / 56–5PhiladelphiaNHTier IIAAQFTier II0 / 45–4Career statisticsYear-end ranking3102081646343211081535167
Record against other top players Spîrlea's win–loss record against certain players who have been ranked world No. 10 or higher is as follows:
Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.
Dominique Monami 6–3 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 5–5 Mary Joe Fernández 4–0 Karina Habšudová 4–1 Amanda Coetzer 4–4 Julie Halard-Decugis 3–2 Ai Sugiyama 3–2 Mary Pierce 3–5 Monica Seles 3–5 Barbara Schett 2–0 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 2–0 Anna Kournikova 2–1 Sandrine Testud 2–1 Gabriela Sabatini 2–2 Chanda Rubin 2–3 Natasha Zvereva 2–5 Lori McNeil 1–0 Paola Suárez 1–0 Andrea Temesvári 1–0 Nathalie Tauziat 1–2 Serena Williams 1–3 Venus Williams 1–3 Conchita Martínez 1–4 Barbara Paulus 1–4 Lindsay Davenport 1–6 Anke Huber 1–7 Kimiko Date 0–1 Zina Garrison 0–1 Martina Navratilova 0–1 Patty Schnyder 0–1 Jennifer Capriati 0–2 Steffi Graf 0–2 Iva Majoli 0–3 Martina Hingis 0–6 Jana Novotná 0–6
References
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