Emma Raducanu was swept aside 6-0, 6-2 by Romanian Sorana Cirstea on Saturday in the final of the Transylvania Open, the Briton's first title match since her shock victory at the US Open in 2021.
Four and a half years after becoming the first player in the Open era to win a Grand Slam from the qualifying rounds in New York, the tournament's top seed got off to a disastrous start in the Romanian city of Cluj, conceding the first eight games to her opponent.
Trailing 6-0, 2-0, Raducanu won her first game on her opponent's serve, before asking to have her blood pressure taken at the changeover.
Clearly not at her best, the 23-year-old nevertheless managed to level the match at two games all before conceding the last four and losing in just over an hour.
Cirstea, who at 35 has already said this will be her last season on tour, won the fourth title of her career, and first in her home country.
The world number 36 previously picked up titles in Tashkent in 2008, Istanbul in 2021 and Cleveland in 2025.
Champion on home soil 💜@sorana_cirstea defeats Raducanu in straight sets and becomes the first home winner in Cluj-Napoca ✨#TO2026 pic.twitter.com/1uD01dBeui
— wta (@WTA) February 7, 2026