“I started again from scratch. Truly from scratch! But I’m glad I gave myself this chance,” Ana Bogdan told us a day before the start of the Transylvania Open.
A finalist here in 2024, Ana arrived in Cluj in the middle of a comeback process. She had taken a six-month break from tennis due to knee and ankle injuries, as well as exhaustion, but she very much wanted to compete at the Transylvania Open.
She began Monday evening’s match against Maja Chwalińska with promise — striking the ball cleanly, returning efficiently, and earning the first break of the match. Up to 3–1, Ana — playing her first official WTA match after a six-month pause — had the initiative and gave her many fans in the stands plenty of reasons for optimism.
As the match went on, however, the lack of match rhythm and competitive play became evident. Chwalińska started to feel both the game and the surface better and better, cut down her errors, and used the entire court to impose her shots.
Currently ranked world No. 146, Chwalińska is a very tenacious player, capable of structured and consistent tennis. She fights for every ball and remains patient in most rallies. Once she found her full rhythm, the Polish player won five consecutive games, taking the first set. The same dynamic continued in the second set, with Chwalińska closing the match 6–3, 6–2.
Her next opponent will be the tournament’s No. 7 seed, Olga Danilović, who defeated Miriam Bulgaru earlier in the day, 6–4, 6–3.
For Ana Bogdan, being in Cluj represents the first step in the new chance she decided to give herself:
“I’m trying to keep things as simple as possible now. I’m not interested in what others are doing. I don’t care what someone else has achieved and I haven’t. Everyone has their own path in life, their own lessons to learn, their own destiny. I am who I am, and I’m trying to be the best version of myself. I don’t feel any pressure, but I would be happy if I managed to return to my very best level. I truly would. But I’m already happy that I gave myself this chance, that I tried again, that I started from zero. Literally from zero. In five years, I’ll be able to say this adventure was worth it.”
