Irina Spîrlea
Romanian tennis player
title: "Irina Spîrlea" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1974-births", "hopman-cup-competitors", "living-people", "tennis-players-from-bucharest", "romanian-female-tennis-players", "tennis-players-at-the-1992-summer-olympics", "olympic-tennis-players-for-romania", "grand-slam-(tennis)-champions-in-girls'-doubles", "french-open-junior-champions"] description: "Romanian tennis player" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irina_Spîrlea" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Romanian tennis player ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox tennis biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Irina Spîrlea |
| country | |
| residence | Rome, Italy |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Bucharest, Romania |
| height | |
| turnedpro | 1990 |
| retired | 2000 |
| plays | Right-handed (one handed-backhand) |
| careerprizemoney | US$ 2,652,068 |
| singlesrecord | |
| singlestitles | 4 WTA, 3 ITF |
| highestsinglesranking | No. 7 (13 October 1997) |
| AustralianOpenresult | QF (1997) |
| FrenchOpenresult | 4R (1994, 1996, 1997) |
| Wimbledonresult | 4R (1997, 1998) |
| USOpenresult | SF (1997) |
| Othertournaments | yes |
| WTAChampionshipsresult | SF (1997, 1998) |
| doublesrecord | 200–154 |
| doublestitles | 6 WTA, 5 ITF |
| highestdoublesranking | No. 16 (2 October 1995) |
| :: |
|name= Irina Spîrlea |image= |country= |residence= Rome, Italy |birth_date= |birth_place= Bucharest, Romania |height= |turnedpro= 1990 |retired= 2000 |plays= Right-handed (one handed-backhand) |careerprizemoney= US$ 2,652,068 |singlesrecord= |singlestitles= 4 WTA, 3 ITF |highestsinglesranking= No. 7 (13 October 1997) |AustralianOpenresult= QF (1997) |FrenchOpenresult= 4R (1994, 1996, 1997) |Wimbledonresult= 4R (1997, 1998) |USOpenresult= SF (1997) |Othertournaments= yes |WTAChampionshipsresult= SF (1997, 1998) |doublesrecord= 200–154 |doublestitles= 6 WTA, 5 ITF |highestdoublesranking= No. 16 (2 October 1995)
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. Spîrlea reached her career-high ranking on the WTA Tour on 13 October 1997, when she became No. 7 in the world. She retired in 2000.
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.
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.) Her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was a semifinal at the US Open in 1997. She won the WTA Newcomer of the Year award in 1994.
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.
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". 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." Spîrlea subsequently had to pay $5,000 fine for using an obscenity. At the following Grand Slam tournament, the 1998 Australian Open, Spîrlea was the first opponent of Venus' sister, Serena Williams in the main draw and lost in three sets.
WTA career finals
Singles: 10 (4 titles, 6 runner-ups)
::data[format=table]
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| Tier I (0–2) |
| Tier II (1–0) |
| Tier III, IV & V (3–4) |
| :: |
| ::data[format=table]
| Titles by surface |
|---|
| Hard (0–2) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Clay (4–3) |
| Carpet (0–1) |
| :: |
|} ::data[format=table]
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 1993 | Sapporo, Japan | Carpet (i) | USA Linda Wild | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Apr 1994 | Taranto Trophy, Italy | Clay | FRA Julie Halard-Decugis | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | Jul 1994 | Palermo International, Italy | Clay | NED Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–5) |
| Loss | 1–3 | Jan 1995 | Jakarta Open, Indonesia | Hard | GER Sabine Hack | 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 4–6 |
| Win | 2–3 | Jul 1995 | Palermo International, Italy | Clay | GER Sabine Hack | 7–6(7–1), 6–2 |
| Win | 3–3 | Apr 1996 | Amelia Island Championships, U.S. | Clay | FRA Mary Pierce | 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–4 | Mar 1997 | Indian Wells Masters, U.S. | Hard | USA Lindsay Davenport | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 3–5 | Mar 1998 | Family Circle Cup, U.S. | Clay | RSA Amanda Coetzer | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 4–5 | May 1998 | Internationaux de Strasbourg, France | Clay | FRA Julie Halard-Decugis | 7–6(7–5), 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–6 | Apr 1999 | Egypt Classic | Clay | ESP Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 1–6, 0–6 |
| :: |
Doubles: 13 (6 titles, 7 runner-ups)
::data[format=table]
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| Tier I (1–1) |
| Tier II (2–2) |
| Tier III, IV & V (3–4) |
| :: |
| ::data[format=table]
| Titles by surface' |
|---|
| Hard (1–1) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Clay (2–3) |
| Carpet (3–3) |
| :: |
|} ::data[format=table]
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Apr 1994 | Taranto Trophy, Italy | Clay | FRA Noëlle van Lottum | ITA Sandra Cecchini | |
| FRA Isabelle Demongeot | 6–3, 2–6, 6–1 | ||||||
| Win | 2–0 | Jan 1995 | Jakarta Open, Indonesia | Hard | GER Claudia Porwik | BEL Laurence Courtois | |
| BEL Nancy Feber | 6–2, 6–3 | ||||||
| Loss | 2–1 | Apr 1995 | Bol Ladies Open, Croatia | Clay | ITA Laura Golarsa | ARG Mercedes Paz | |
| CAN Rene Simpson | 5–7, 2–6 | ||||||
| Loss | 2–2 | Jan 1996 | Pan Pacific Open, Japan | Carpet (i) | RSA Mariaan de Swardt | USA Gigi Fernández | |
| BLR Natasha Zvereva | 6–7(7–9), 3–6 | ||||||
| Win | 3–2 | May 1996 | Italian Open | Clay | ESP Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | USA Gigi Fernández | |
| SUI Martina Hingis | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 | ||||||
| Loss | 3–3 | Nov 1996 | Bank of the West Classic, U.S. | Carpet (i) | FRA Nathalie Tauziat | USA Lindsay Davenport | |
| USA Mary Joe Fernández | 1–6, 3–6 | ||||||
| Loss | 3–4 | May 1997 | Madrid Open, Spain | Clay | ARG Inés Gorrochategui | USA Mary Joe Fernández | |
| ESP Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 3–6, 2–6 | ||||||
| Loss | 3–5 | Nov 1998 | Sparkassen Cup Leipzig, Germany | Carpet (i) | NED Manon Bollegraf | RUS Elena Likhovtseva | |
| JPN Ai Sugiyama | 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 1–6 | ||||||
| Loss | 3–6 | Jan 1999 | Brisbane International, Australia | Hard | AUS Kristine Kunce | ROM Corina Morariu | |
| LAT Larisa Neiland | 3–6, 3–6 | ||||||
| Win | 4–6 | Feb 1999 | Paris Indoor, France | Carpet (i) | NED Caroline Vis | RUS Elena Likhovtseva | |
| JPN Ai Sugiyama | 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 | ||||||
| Loss | 4–7 | Apr 1999 | Egypt Classic | Clay | NED Caroline Vis | BEL Laurence Courtois | |
| ESP Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 7–5, 1–6, 6–7(7–9) | ||||||
| Win | 5–7 | Sep 1999 | Luxembourg Open | Carpet (i) | NED Caroline Vis | SLO Tina Križan | |
| SLO Katarina Srebotnik | 6–1, 6–2 | ||||||
| Win | 6–7 | Oct 1999 | Generali Ladies Linz, Austria | Carpet (i) | NED Caroline Vis | SLO Tina Križan | |
| LAT Larisa Neiland | 6–4, 6–3 | ||||||
| :: |
ITF Circuit finals
::data[format=table]
| Legend |
|---|
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| :: |
Singles (3–1)
::data[format=table]
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 24 September 1990 | Mali Lošinj, Yugoslavia | Clay | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | 3–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 2. | 3 June 1991 | Milan, Italy | Clay | FRA Agnès Zugasti | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 3. | 3 February 1992 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Clay | BEL Ann Devries | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | 14 June 1993 | Brindisi, Italy | Clay | NED Petra Kamstra | 6–1, 5–7, 6–3 |
| :: |
Doubles (5–8)
::data[format=table]
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 13 August 1990 | Rebecq, Belgium | Clay | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | BEL Els Callens | |
| BEL Caroline Wuillot | 4–6, 2–6 | ||||||
| Win | 2. | 20 August 1990 | Koksijde, Belgium | Clay | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | RSA Erda Crous | |
| TCH Lucie Ludvigová | 6–1, 2–6, 6–3 | ||||||
| Win | 3. | 17 September 1990 | Rabac, Yugoslavia | Clay | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | TCH Katarína Studeníková | |
| TCH Gabriela Vesela | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 | ||||||
| Loss | 4. | 24 September 1990 | Mali Lošinj, Yugoslavia | Clay | URS Anna Mirza | TCH Eva Martincová | |
| TCH Zdeňka Málková | 1–6, 1–6 | ||||||
| Win | 5. | 8 October 1990 | Bol, Croatia | Clay | POL Magdalena Feistel | TCH Eva Martincová | |
| TCH Zdeňka Málková | 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 | ||||||
| Loss | 6. | 29 May 1991 | Brindisi, Italy | Clay | TCH Katarína Studeníková | URU Patricia Miller | |
| ARG Inés Gorrochategui | 1–6, 6–7 | ||||||
| Loss | 7. | 29 July 1991 | Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany | Clay | GER Meike Babel | SWE Catarina Bernstein | |
| SWE Annika Narbe | 4–6, 5–7 | ||||||
| Loss | 8. | 12 August 1991 | Pisticci, Italy | Hard | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | AUS Justine Hodder | |
| CRO Maja Murić | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 | ||||||
| Loss | 9. | 3 February 1992 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Clay | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | AUS Nicole Pratt | |
| AUS Angie Woolcock | 1–6, 0–6 | ||||||
| Win | 10. | 28 September 1992 | Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy | Clay | BEL Ann Devries | ITA Ginevra Mugnaini | |
| ROU Andreea Ehritt-Vanc | 6–0, 6–0 | ||||||
| Loss | 11. | 22 November 1992 | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Carpet (i) | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | BEL Els Callens | |
| BUL Elena Pampoulova | 6–7(3–7), 4–6 | ||||||
| Win | 12. | 30 November 1992 | Le Havre, France | Clay | ROU Ruxandra Dragomir | GER Angela Kerek | |
| GER Sabine Lohmann | 6–3, 7–6 | ||||||
| Loss | 13. | 14 June 1993 | Brindisi, Italy | Clay | GER Angela Kerek | NED Lara Bitter | |
| NED Petra Kamstra | 5–7, 6–4, 2–6 | ||||||
| :: |
Singles performance timeline
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | SR | W–L | W% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 4R | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 8–7 | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | A | A | 1R | A | 4R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 8 | 13–8 | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 10–7 | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | A | A | Q1 | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | 4R | 3R | A | 0 / 6 | 12–6 | ||||||||||||||
| Win–loss | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year-end championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | SF | SF | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | ||||||||||||||
| Tier I tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tokyo | Tier II | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | QF | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | Tier II | F | 3R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 8–5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | QF | QF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 7 | 8–7 | ||||||||||||||
| Charleston | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | QF | 3R | F | 2R | A | 0 / 6 | 11–6 | ||||||||||||||
| Berlin | A | A | A | A | A | SF | A | 3R | QF | 1R | 1F | 0 / 5 | 7–5 | ||||||||||||||
| Rome | A | A | Q1 | A | SF | 3R | SF | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 8 | 15–8 | ||||||||||||||
| Montreal / Toronto | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 4 | 1–4 | ||||||||||||||
| Moscow | Tier V | Not Held | Tier III | QF | 1R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zürich | Tier II | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | SF | 2R | A | 0 / 5 | 6–5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia | NH | Tier II | A | A | QF | Tier II | 0 / 4 | 5–4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 310 | 208 | 164 | 63 | 43 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 35 | 167 | ||||||||||||||||
| :: |
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.
- Dominique Monami 6–3
- Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 5–5
- Mary Joe Fernández 4–0
- Karina Habšudová 4–1
- Amanda Coetzer 4–4
- Julie Halard-Decugis 3–2
- Ai Sugiyama 3–2
- Mary Pierce 3–5
- Monica Seles 3–5
- Barbara Schett 2–0
- Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 2–0
- Anna Kournikova 2–1
- Sandrine Testud 2–1
- Gabriela Sabatini 2–2
- Chanda Rubin 2–3
- Natasha Zvereva 2–5
- Lori McNeil 1–0
- Paola Suárez 1–0
- Andrea Temesvári 1–0
- Nathalie Tauziat 1–2
- Serena Williams 1–3
- Venus Williams 1–3
- Conchita Martínez 1–4
- Barbara Paulus 1–4
- Lindsay Davenport 1–6
- Anke Huber 1–7
- Kimiko Date 0–1
- Zina Garrison 0–1
- Martina Navratilova 0–1
- Patty Schnyder 0–1
- Jennifer Capriati 0–2
- Steffi Graf 0–2
- Iva Majoli 0–3
- Martina Hingis 0–6
- Jana Novotná 0–6
References
References
- [http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/irina-spirlea-a-nascut-un-baietel/10508 Article in Romanian] {{webarchive. link. (28 September 2007)
- "Article in Romanian".
- [http://www.clarosports.com/news_stories/wta-announces-bucharest-open-for-2014-11168207 Article in Romanian] {{webarchive. link. (12 May 2014)
- "Women's Tennis News | WTA Tennis".
- [http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/SPT/707180354/-1/CINCI The Enquirer – This article is no longer available]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040103075708/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/events/1997/usopen/profiles/profiles14.html CNN/SI – US Open Player Profiles]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311100953/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/1997/12/19/news.yetennis.html sportsillustrated.cnn.com]
- "telegraph.co.uk".
- Harris, Cecil. (2020-02-01). "Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the Unfinished Black Tennis Revolution". U of Nebraska Press.
- "WashingtonPost.com: In the Name of the Daughters".
- (19 January 1998). "Serena Williams Beats Irina Spirlea".
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