Irina Spîrlea

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 during her career. Spîrlea reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA Tour on 13 October 1997, when she became number 7 in the world. She retired in 2000.

Irina Spîrlea
Country (sports) Romania
ResidenceRome, Italy
Born (1974-03-26) 26 March 1974
Bucharest, Romania
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1990
Retired2000
PlaysRight-handed (one handed-backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 2,652,068
Singles
Career record291–189
Career titles4 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 7 (13 October 1997)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1997)
French Open4R (1994, 1996, 1997)
Wimbledon4R (1997, 1998)
US OpenSF (1997)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (1997, 1998)
Doubles
Career record200–154
Career titles6 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 16 (2 October 1995)

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.[1][2]

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.)[3] Her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was a semi-final at the US Open in 1997. She won the WTA's Newcomer of the Year award in 1994.[4]

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.[5][6]

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".[7] 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."[8][9][7] Williams, however, shrugged off the confrontation saying "I thought we both weren't looking. I'm sorry she feels that way. It's not a big thing to me. No one said 'Excuse me'.[10]

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 10 (4–6)
Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–2)
Tier II (1–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (3–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (4–3)
Carpet (0–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 27 September 1993 Sapporo Carpet (i) Linda Wild 4–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. 25 April 1994 Taranto Clay Julie Halard-Decugis 2–6, 3–6
Winner 1. 4 July 1994 Palermo Clay Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–5)
Runner-up 3. 2 January 1995 Jakarta Hard Sabine Hack 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 4–6
Winner 2. 10 July 1995 Palermo Clay Sabine Hack 7–6(7–1), 6–2
Winner 3. 8 April 1996 Amelia Island Clay Mary Pierce 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 6–3
Runner-up 4. 3 March 1997 Indian Wells Hard Lindsay Davenport 2–6, 1–6
Runner-up 5. 30 March 1998 Hilton Head Island Clay Amanda Coetzer 3–6, 4–6
Winner 4. 18 May 1998 Strasbourg Clay Julie Halard-Decugis 7–6(7–5), 6–3
Runner-up 6. 19 April 1999 Cairo Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1–6, 0–6

Doubles: 13 (6–7)
Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (1–1)
Tier II (2–2)
Tier III, IV & V / International (3–4)
Titles by Surface
Hard (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (2–3)
Carpet (3–3)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 25 April 1994 Taranto Clay Noëlle van Lottum Sandra Cecchini
Isabelle Demongeot		 6–3, 2–6, 6–1
Winner 2. 2 January 1995 Jakarta Hard Claudia Porwik Laurence Courtois
Nancy Feber		 6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 1 24 April 1995 Zagreb Clay Laura Golarsa Mercedes Paz
Rene Simpson		 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up 2. 29 January 1996 Tokyo Carpet (i) Mariaan de Swardt Gigi Fernández
Natasha Zvereva		 6–7(7–9), 3–6
Winner 3. 6 May 1996 Rome Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Gigi Fernández
Martina Hingis		 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up 3. 4 November 1996 Oakland Carpet (i) Nathalie Tauziat Lindsay Davenport
Mary Joe Fernández		 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up 4. 19 May 1997 Madrid Clay Inés Gorrochategui Mary Joe Fernández
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 5. 2 November 1998 Leipzig Carpet (i) Manon Bollegraf Elena Likhovtseva
Ai Sugiyama		 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 1–6
Runner-up 6. 4 January 1999 Gold Coast Hard Kristine Kunce Corina Morariu
Larisa Neiland		 3–6, 3–6
Winner 4. 22 February 1999 Paris Carpet (i) Caroline Vis Elena Likhovtseva
Ai Sugiyama		 7–5, 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up 7. 19 April 1999 Cairo Clay Caroline Vis Laurence Courtois
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 7–5, 1–6, 6–7(7–9)
Winner 5. 20 September 1999 Luxembourg Carpet (i) Caroline Vis Tina Križan
Katarina Srebotnik		 6–1, 6–2
Winner 6. 25 October 1999 Linz Carpet (i) Caroline Vis Tina Križan
Larisa Neiland		 6–4, 6–3

ITF Circuit finals
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 24 September 1990 Mali Lošinj, Yugoslavia Clay Ruxandra Dragomir 3–6, 1–6
Winner 2. 3 June 1991 Milan, Italy Clay Agnès Zugasti 6–4, 7–5
Winner 3. 3 February 1992 Jakarta, Indonesia Clay Ann Devries 6–3, 6–2
Winner 4. 14 June 1993 Brindisi, Italy Clay Petra Kamstra 6–1, 5–7, 6–3

Doubles
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 13 August 1990 Rebecq, Belgium Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Els Callens
Caroline Wuillot		 4–6, 2–6
Winner 2. 20 August 1990 Koksijde, Belgium Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Erda Crous
Lucie Ludvigová		 6–1, 2–6, 6–3
Winner 3. 17 September 1990 Rabac, Yugoslavia Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Katarína Studeníková
Gabriela Vesela		 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 4. 24 September 1990 Mali Lošinj, Yugoslavia Clay Anna Mirza Eva Martincová
Zdeňka Málková		 1–6, 1–6
Winner 5. 8 October 1990 Bol, Croatia Clay Magdalena Feistel Zdeňka Málková
Eva Martincová		 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 6. 29 May 1991 Brindisi, Italy Clay Katarína Studeníková Patricia Miller
Inés Gorrochategui		 1–6, 6–7
Runner-up 7. 29 July 1991 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany Clay Meike Babel Catarina Bernstein
Annika Narbe		 4–6, 5–7
Runner-up 8. 12 August 1991 Pisticci, Italy Hard Ruxandra Dragomir Justine Hodder
Maja Murić		 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up 9. 3 February 1992 Jakarta, Indonesia Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Nicole Pratt
Angie Woolcock		 1–6, 0–6
Winner 10. 28 September 1992 Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy Clay Ann Devries Ginevra Mugnaini
Andreea Ehritt-Vanc		 6–0, 6–0
Runner-up 11. 22 November 1992 Nottingham, United Kingdom Carpet (i) Ruxandra Dragomir Els Callens
Elena Pampoulova		 6–7(3–7), 4–6
Winner 12. 30 November 1992 Le Havre, France Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Angela Kerek
Sabine Lohmann		 6–3, 7–6
Runner-up 13. 14 June 1993 Brindisi, Italy Clay Angela Kerek Lara Bitter
Petra Kamstra		 5–7, 6–4, 2–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–LW%
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 1R 4R 2R QF 1R 1R 1R 0 / 7 8–7 53%
French Open A A 1R A 4R 3R 4R 4R 1R 3R 1R 0 / 8 13–8 62%
Wimbledon A A A A 2R 3R 2R 4R 4R 1R 1R 0 / 7 10–7 59%
US Open A A Q1 A 1R 1R 3R SF 4R 3R A 0 / 6 12–6 67%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 4–4 7–4 7–4 15–4 6–4 4–4 0–3 0 / 28 43–28 61%
Year-End Championships
Tour Championships A A A A A A 1R SF SF A A 0 / 3 4–3 57%
Tier I Tournaments
Tokyo Tier II A A A 2R 2R QF A A 0 / 3 4–3 57%
Chicago A Tier II Not Held 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Boca Raton Tier II A A Tier II Not Held 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Indian Wells Tier II F 3R 2R 2R 0 / 5 8–5 62%
Miami A A A A 1R 2R QF QF 2R 2R 2R 0 / 7 8–7 53%
Charleston A A A A 1R 3R QF 3R F 2R A 0 / 6 11–6 65%
Berlin A A A A A SF A 3R QF 1R 1F 0 / 5 7–5 58%
Rome A A Q1 A SF 3R SF QF 3R 3R 1R 0 / 8 15–8 65%
Montreal / Toronto A A A A A A 1R 1R 3R 1R A 0 / 4 1–4 20%
Moscow Tier V Not Held Tier III QF 1R A A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Zürich Tier II A A 1R 2R 2R SF 2R A 0 / 5 6–5 55%
Philadelphia NH Tier II A A QF Tier II 0 / 4 5–4 56%
Career Statistics
Year-End Ranking 310 208 164 63 43 21 10 8 15 35 167
  • A = did not participate in the tournament.
  • SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

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.

References
  1. Article in Romanian Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Article in Romanian
  3. Article in Romanian Archived 12 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. The Enquirer – This article is no longer available
  6. CNN/SI – US Open Player Profiles
  7. sportsillustrated.cnn.com
  8. telegraph.co.uk
  9. Harris, Cecil (1 February 2020). Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the Unfinished Black Tennis Revolution. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-1465-2.
  10. Father of tennis star Venus Williams charges racism during recent U.S. Open – Richard Williams|Jet|Find Articles at BNET.com
Preceded by
Iva Majoli		 WTA Newcomer of the Year
1994		 Succeeded by
Martina Hingis
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