Two Romanians receive wild cards for the Cluj-Napoca tournament, with Gabriela Ruse entering the main draw and Mara Gae in the qualifiers!
Two Romanian players have been granted wild cards by Transylvania Open WTA 250 and will compete in the third edition of the tournament in Cluj-Napoca, scheduled for October 14-22, 2023. Thus, Gabriela Ruse (ranked 185th in WTA) will directly enter the main draw. The second wild card was awarded to the young player Mara Gae, the winner of the 2023 US Open in junior doubles. At just 17 years old, she triumphed at Flushing Meadows in the junior competition and will now compete in the qualifiers for a spot in the main draw.
Patrick Ciorcilă, the director of Transylvania Open WTA 250, said, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to support and promote Romanian players at the Transylvania Open WTA 250. One of the major advantages of organizing a WTA tournament in Romania is the ability to offer wild cards to our players. It’s different when you play in front of your own crowd and feel their unwavering support from the stands.
First and foremost, we have Gabriela Ruse, who has played at Transylvania Open every year. You probably remember that last year she had a sensational match on the center court that lasted for more than three hours, and the crowd was with her from start to finish. It felt like a final, even though it was in the round of 16.
Secondly, we are excited to bring a promising young talent, Mara Gae, in front of the fans. She achieved a remarkable result at the US Open in the junior category and promises a lot for the future. We hope that the Transylvania Open will be a turning point for her. Moreover, we want young Romanian players to come to the tournament for the experience of meeting the audience and with the thought that it’s an extraordinary opportunity to win a tournament at home.”
The Transylvania Open WTA 250 tournament has four wild cards allocated, two for the main draw (MD) and two for the qualifiers (Q). Organizers can offer two of these, while the other two are offered by Octagon, the entity that holds the tournament license and have been granted to the following players: Nikola Bartunkova (331 WTA) – Czech Republic (MD) and Francesca Jones (304 WTA) – Great Britain (Q).
The third edition of the Transylvania Open WTA 250 tennis tournament is attracting big names from the world of tennis, such as Caroline Garcia, the winner of the 2022 WTA Finals and former world number 1, who is the top seed in the Cluj tournament. Alongside her, players like Donna Vekić, Sorana Cîrstea, and Anhelina Kalinina promise an unforgettable tennis spectacle. The main draw of the tournament also features three other Romanian players: Patricia Țig (ranked 65th in WTA), Ana Bogdan (ranked 61st in WTA), fresh off her victory in the Parma tournament, and Jaqueline Cristian (ranked 103rd in WTA).
The Transylvania Open WTA 250 will take place from October 16 to 22, 2023, starting with two days of qualifiers on October 14-15, 2023. The matches will be played indoors on hard courts at the BT Arena, on two playing surfaces.
Tennis fans have access to a limited number of 100 season passes for the entire tournament period, from October 16 to 22, and one-day tickets that provide access to all matches on that specific day on both playing surfaces. For the qualifying days on October 14-15, the audience has free access, but a zero-value ticket must be issued, and seats reserved on the ticketing partner’s website or at the venue during the event, subject to availability. Tournament tickets are exclusively available on entertix.ro and are non-refundable.
