Ana, you’ve been present at every edition of the Transylvania Open so far. How does this fifth edition compare to the previous ones?
I truly believe this is the most special one because all the Romanian players are here—Simona, Sorana, Irina, Jacqueline, Gabi, Anca, and myself. We don’t usually gather in such numbers, not even at the Fed Cup! At the Players’ Party, we spent a lot of time together, talking, laughing, and having a great time. I feel that we’ve grown much closer lately, that we’ve matured. That’s the key word—maturity! At this age, we see each other differently than we did 10 years ago when we were just kids. Now, we are closer, more united, and more open with each other, and everything feels more natural. That makes me happy!
Here in Cluj, all of Romania’s top players—both individually and at the Fed Cup—are competing. What legacy do you think your generation is leaving for the next wave of players?
Our fighting spirit. Yes, I believe it’s our determination, our refusal to give up, no matter how difficult things get. When we started playing tennis as kids, before reaching the WTA’s Top 100 as professionals, I don’t think we had outstanding training conditions. Personally, and I believe the same goes for the others, I used to train on a court that didn’t even have proper dimensions, hitting balls over a volleyball net… That’s how we started, and I think it constantly pushed us to want more, to become better, to achieve greater results, and to develop ourselves.
I think that this is one of the things we’re going to leave behind. Now, things have changed, but the drive to fight still comes from within. It comes only from your inner belief, strength, and desire to compete and win.
