Irina-Camelia Begu
Irina-Camelia Begu is a Romanian professional tennis player.
Begu has won four WTA, one WTA 125K, and 12 ITF singles titles. On 22 August 2016, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 22.
She has also won nine WTA and 19 ITF doubles titles. Her highest doubles ranking of No. 22 was achieved on 1 October 2018.
Biography
Begu was born in Bucharest. Her mother Steluţa is a civil servant, while her father Paul is an electrician. She has an older brother, Andrei.She started playing tennis when she was three-and-a-half years old as her aunt, former tennis player Aurelia Gheorghe, introduced her to the sport. At 14 years old, Irina took part in a one-month tour promoted by the ITF with seven other girls and eight boys, joining the likes of Grigor Dimitrov and Ricardas Berankis.
Begu recently became a brand ambassador for TENA Lady sanitary products.
Professional career
2011: Breakthrough
Begu, whose favorite surface is clay, started the year at No. 234, never winning a main-draw match at WTA level.Begu won the first $100,000 ITF event of her career in February in Cali, defeating world No. 82 Laura Pous Tió in the final in straight sets.
In April, she entered the Andalucia Tennis Experience as a qualifier and eventually made the qualifications without losing a set. Then she defeated Alberta Brianti 6–4, 6–1 in the first round and followed that up with a 7–5, 6–0 win over Estrella Cabeza Candela to advance to the quarterfinals. She made to the semifinals after she beat 34th-ranked Klára Zakopalová 6–3, 6–3. In the semifinal, she stunned world No. 14 and former world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 to reach her first WTA final, eventually losing to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.
Begu neared her first ever WTA title, reaching her second final of the year in Budapest on 10 July. The Romanian played the semifinal more aggressively than the fifth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues who allowed the youngster to break her when it counted most. Irina had previously dominated another Spaniard Estrella Cabeza Candela 6–0, 6–3. Her first round brought her a 6–4, 6–4 win over another Spanish player, Laura Pous Tió whom she defeated 6–4, 6–4, and a second straight similar win over Ajla Tomljanović of Croatia. She eventually lost the last act against top-seeded Roberta Vinci, 4–6, 6–1, 4–6.
In July she posted the lone upset of second-round at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo tournament in Italy, defeating second-seeded Roberta Vinci 6–4, 6–3, after eliminating another local in the first round, Maria Elena Camerin. Begu lost eventually to the fifth-seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals, who was also the winner of the competition.
In the same month, Begu won the BCR Open Romania Ladies title, by defeating the Spanish opponent Laura Pous Tió 6–3, 7–5, in the final. Begu achieved her third consecutive win against Laura Pous Tió in 2011, after the two in Cali and Budapest. It was her fifth final of the year and her second trophy. The 50 WTA points allowed her to enter the top 50 best women players in the world, becoming also the highest ranked Romanian player.
2012: First WTA title
Begu competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's singles, but lost in the first round to Victoria Azarenka.Ranked world No. 96, Begu won her opening match at the US Open, defeating the eighth seed, 2009 finalist and two-time semifinalist Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. She subsequently lost to Sílvia Soler Espinosa of Spain in round two.
In September of that year, she won her first WTA title in Tashkent, beating Donna Vekic in straight sets in the final.
2014: First WTA Premier final and two WTA doubles titles
Begu started the season losing in the qualifying of Sydney and Brisbane. At the Australian Open she passed through the qualifying draw, beating Stephanie Vogt, Jovana Jakšić and Madison Brengle before losing in the main draw to Kazakh Galina Voskoboeva in three sets. In Rio, she played the qualifying rounds and reached the main draw, where she made it to the quarterfinals after beating eighth seed Vania King and Verónica Cepede Royg. She then lost to Teliana Pereira in two sets. However, she won the title in the doubles, teaming up with María Irigoyen.At Oeiras she reached the semifinals, beating en route Kurumi Nara, Kaia Kanepi and Timea Bacsinszky before losing to eventual champion Carla Suárez Navarro. At Seoul in singles she lost in the first round to Chanelle Scheepers in three sets. In doubles she paired with Lara Arruabarrena defeating Mona Barthel and Mandy Minella in the final 6–3, 6–3, claiming her second WTA doubles title of the year. At Moscow she reached her first Premier final, beating Donna Vekić, 2nd seed Ekaterina Makarova, Tsvetana Pironkova and 4th seed Lucie Šafářová before losing to seed No. 6 and eventual champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. With this result, she returned to the top 40.
2015: First Major 4th round, second WTA title, top 30
Begu achieved her best singles Grand Slam result at the Australian Open, reaching the fourth round for the first time before being defeated by Eugenie Bouchard in three sets. Prior to that she upset ninth seed Angelique Kerber in the first round.In Rio, Begu made semifinals by beating in her route Olivia Rogowska, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Julia Glushko in two sets before losing to eventual finalist Anna Schmiedlová in three sets.
As No. 13 at Charleston, she made quarterfinals after Makarova's withdrawal, losing in two tie-breaks to Angelique Kerber.
At Madrid she made the quarterfinals beating en route Kurumi Nara, Andrea Petkovic, and Barbora Strýcová before losing to Petra Kvitová. At Rome she made third-round losing in three sets to Victoria Azarenka.
At the French Open, Begu reached the third round for the first time beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Ana Konjuh en route before losing to Petra Kvitová.
Prior to Wimbledon, Begu played in Birmingham and Eastbourne, but lost in the first round in both tournaments. She then reached the third round of the Grand Slam by beating Daria Gavrilova and Lesia Tsurenko before losing to fourth seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets.
At Washington as seed 6, Begu made quarterfinals by beating Madison Brengle and Polona Hercog before losing to top seed of the tournament Ekaterina Makarova. Despite only two wins in six matches in the American season, with her US Open opener lost, Begu reached a career high as the world No. 28 ranking.
Seeded No. 1, she then won her second WTA title in Seoul by defeating Kateryna Kozlova, Polona Hercog, Johanna Larsson, Alison Van Uytvanck, and in the final WTA rising star Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
2016: First Premier-5 semifinal and third WTA title
Begu started her season in Shenzhen, beating Lara Arruabarrena in the first round. In the second round, she had to withdraw in the second set in her match against Anna Lena Friedsam due to knee injury. Begu also withdrew from Sydney. She then lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Johanna Larsson.In February she could not play at all. She had to withdraw from the Fed Cup, St. Petersburg and Doha because of her knee injury.
In March, Irina played the 2016 BNP Paribas Open, where she lost in the first round to Laura Siegemund, falling in three sets. She then played at the Miami Open, where she beat qualifier Maria Sakkari, Sabine Lisicki and Kristýna Plíšková, before losing to Madison Keys.
Begu started her clay-court season in Charleston where she was seeded No. 13. She beat Caroline Garcia, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Monica Puig before losing to Angelique Kerber. After Charleston, Begu played for Romania in the Fed Cup, but lost both singles and doubles in their tie against Germany. At Rabat, Begu was surprisingly defeated by lucky loser Richel Hogenkamp in straight sets.
Begu's next tournament was Madrid where she arrived for the 2nd consecutive time in the quarterfinals of the tournament, beating Eugenie Bouchard, No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza and Christina McHale en route. In the quarterfinals, she played against fellow Romanian Simona Halep, losing in three sets. She then played at the Italian Open and defeated Margarita Gasparyan before getting a surprising win over world No. 5 Victoria Azarenka. She then beat Daria Kasatkina and Misaki Doi en route to her first Premier-5 semifinal where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams. Her next tournament was Roland Garros, where she beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands, CoCo Vandeweghe and Annika Beck before losing to Shelby Rogers in the fourth round.
In June, Begu began her grass-court season in Birmingham, eliminating fourth seed Belinda Bencic, before being upset in the second round by the in-form qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets. She then lost to a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard in her first match at the Eastbourne International. Her grass-court campaign ended with a first-round loss at Wimbledon to Carina Witthöft. Prior to the Olympic Games in Rio, Begu played at the Brasil Tennis Cup, where she beat Laura Pigossi, Paula Cristina Gonçalves, Nao Hibino, Monica Puig and Tímea Babos en route to her third WTA title. At the Olympics she competed in the women's singles, the women's doubles and the mixed doubles.
2017: Fourth WTA title
At the Australian Open, Irina defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, but lost in the second round to Kristýna Plíšková, score 4–6, 6–7. On July 23, she won the Bucharest Open without losing a set in the entire tournament.2020: First WTA 125K series title, 12th ITF title
Irina won an ITF title in Cairo in February, the 2020 Zed Tennis Open, by defeating Lesia Tsurenko 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 in the final.She continued her good form in March and won a WTA 125K series title, the Oracle Challenger Series – Indian Wells. She did not lose a set in the entire tournament and defeated Misaki Doi 6–3, 6–3 in the final.
Performance timelines
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in Win–Loss records.Singles
Current through the suspension of the 2020 WTA Tour.Doubles
Significant finals
Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
WTA career finals
Singles: 7 (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience – Singles| | Andalucia Tennis Experience, Spain | International | Clay |  Victoria Azarenka | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | 2011 Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix – Singles| | Budapest Grand Prix, Hungary | International | Clay |  Roberta Vinci | 4–6, 6–1, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | 2012 Tashkent Open – Singles| | Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan | International | Hard |  Donna Vekić | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–3 | 2014 Kremlin Cup – Women's Singles| | Kremlin Cup, Russia | Premier | Hard |  Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | 4–6, 7–5, 1–6 |
| Win | 2–3 | 2015 Korea Open – Singles| | Korea Open, South Korea | International | Hard |  Aliaksandra Sasnovich | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 3–3 | 2016 Brasil Tennis Cup – Singles| | Brasil Tennis Cup, Brazil | International | Hard |  Tímea Babos | 2–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 4–3 | 2017 BRD Bucharest Open – Singles| | Bucharest Open, Romania | International | Clay |  Julia Görges | 6–3, 7–5 |
Doubles: 16 (9 titles, 7 runners-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2012 Moorilla Hobart International – Doubles| | Hobart International, Australia | International | Hard |  Monica Niculescu |  Chuang Chia-jung  Marina Erakovic | 6–7, 7–6, |
| Loss | 1–1 | 2012 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Doubles| | Morocco Open, Morocco | International | Clay | Alexandra Cadanțu |  Petra Cetkovská Alexandra Panova | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 1–2 | 2012 BGL Luxembourg Open – Doubles| | Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg | International | Hard | Monica Niculescu | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | 2013 Topshelf Open – Women's Doubles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | International | Grass |  Anabel Medina Garrigues |  Dominika Cibulková Arantxa Parra Santonja | 4–6, 7–6, |
| Win | 3–2 | 2014 Rio Open – Women's Doubles| | Rio Open, Brazil | International | Clay |  María Irigoyen |  Johanna Larsson  Chanelle Scheepers | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 4–2 | 2014 Korea Open – Doubles| | Korea Open, South Korea | International | Hard | Lara Arruabarrena | Mona Barthel  Mandy Minella | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–3 | 2015 Rio Open – Women's Doubles| | Rio Open, Brazil | International | Clay | María Irigoyen |  Ysaline Bonaventure Rebecca Peterson | 0–3 ret. |
| Loss | 4–4 | 2015 Wuhan Open – Doubles| | Wuhan Open, China | Premier 5 | Hard | Monica Niculescu |  Martina Hingis  Sania Mirza | 2−6, 3−6 |
| Loss | 4–5 | 2015 Kremlin Cup – Women's Doubles| | Kremlin Cup, Russia | Premier | Hard | Monica Niculescu | Daria Kasatkina Elena Vesnina | 3–6, 7–6, |
| Win | 5–5 | 2017 BRD Bucharest Open – Doubles| | Bucharest Open, Romania | International | Clay | Raluca Olaru | Elise Mertens  Demi Schuurs | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–5 | 2017 Tianjin Open – Doubles| | Tianjin Open, China | International | Hard | Sara Errani |  Dalila Jakupović  Nina Stojanović | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 7–5 | 2018 WTA Shenzhen Open – Doubles| | Shenzhen Open, China | International | Hard | Simona Halep | Kateřina Siniaková Barbora Krejčíková | 1–6, 6–1, |
| Loss | 7–6 | 2018 Eastbourne International – Women's Doubles| | Eastbourne International, United Kingdom | Premier | Grass | Mihaela Buzărnescu |  Gabriela Dabrowski  Xu Yifan | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 8–6 | 2018 Bucharest Open – Doubles| | Bucharest Open, Romania | International | Clay | Andreea Mitu |  Danka Kovinić Maryna Zanevska | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8–7 | 2018 Tashkent Open – Doubles| | Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan | International | Hard | Raluca Olaru | Olga Danilović Tamara Zidanšek | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 9–7 | 2019 Thailand Open – Doubles| | Hua Hin Championships, Thailand | International | Hard | Monica Niculescu | Anna Blinkova Wang Yafan | 2–6, 6–1, |
WTA 125K series finals
Singles: 1 (1 title)
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 20 (12 titles, 8 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 2006 | ITF Bucharest 6, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Alexandra Cadanţu | 3–6, 6–2, 3–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Sep 2007 | ITF Braşov, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Cristina Mitu | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Mar 2008 | ITF Ain Sukhna, Egypt | 10,000 | Carpet |  Katarzyna Piter | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Sep 2008 | ITF Braşov, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Diana Enache | 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 3–2 | Sep 2008 | ITF Budapest, Hungary | 10,000 | Clay | Laura-Ioana Andrei | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Win | 4–2 | Oct 2008 | ITF Jounieh, Lebanon | 50,000 | Clay | Anastasia Yakimova | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 5–2 | Oct 2008 | ITF Glasgow, Scotland | 25,000 | Hard |  Patricia Mayr | 2–6, 7–5, 7–6 |
| Loss | 5–3 | Apr 2010 | ITF Incheon, South Korea | 25,000 | Hard |  Lee Jin-a | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 5–4 | Aug 2010 | ITF Versmold, Germany | 25,000 | Clay | Magda Linette | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 6–4 | Sep 2010 | ITF Podgorica, Montenegro | 25,000 | Clay | Annalisa Bona | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 7–4 | Feb 2011 | ITF Cali, Colombia | 100,000 | Clay | Laura Pous Tió | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 7–5 | Jun 2011 | ITF Marseille, France | 100,000 | Clay |  Pauline Parmentier | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 8–5 | Jul 2011 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 100,000 | Clay | Laura Pous Tió | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 9–5 | Mar 2014 | ITF Campinas, Brazil | 25,000 | Clay | Alexandra Panova | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 10–5 | Mar 2014 | ITF Sao Paulo, Brazil | 25,000 | Clay | Alexandra Panova | 7–5, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10–6 | Apr 2014 | ITF Medellin, Colombia | 50,000 | Clay |  Verónica Cepede Royg | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 11–6 | Jul 2014 | ITF Contrexéville, France | 100,000 | Clay |  Kaia Kanepi | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 11–7 | 2017 Aegon Southsea Trophy – Singles| | ITF Southsea, United Kingdom | 100,000+H | Grass | Tatjana Maria | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 11–8 | 2019 Kiskút Open II – Singles| | ITF Székesfehérvár, Hungary | 100,000 | Clay | Danka Kovinic | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Win | 12–8 | Feb 2020 | ITF Cairo, Egypt | 100,000 | Hard |  Lesia Tsurenko | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 |
Doubles: 27 (19 titles, 8 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 2006 | ITF Galaţi, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Carmen-Raluca Ţibuleac | Bianca Bonifate Diana Gae | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 2–0 | May 2007 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Simona Halep | Laura-Ioana Andrei Ioana Gaspar | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Aug 2007 | ITF Hunedoara, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Laura-Ioana Andrei | Diana Enache Antonia Xenia Tout | 6–3, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Sep 2007 | ITF Braşov, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Diana Gae | Raluca Ciulei Camelia Hristea | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Jun 2008 | ITF Craiova, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Alexandra Damaschin | Laura-Ioana Andrei Diana Enache | 3–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 3–3 | Jul 2008 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Ioana Gaspar | Mihaela Bunea Gabriela Niculescu | 4–6, 6–3, |
| Win | 4–3 | Jul 2008 | ITF Hunedoara, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Elora Dabija | Katarína Poljaková Zuzana Zlochová | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–3 | Aug 2008 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Laura-Ioana Andrei | Lyudmyla Kichenok Nadiya Kichenok | 6–2, 3–6, |
| Win | 6–3 | Sep 2008 | ITF Braşov, Romania | 10,000 | Clay | Laura-Ioana Andrei | Bianca Hîncu Cristina Stancu | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 7–3 | Sep 2008 | ITF Budapest, Hungary | 10,000 | Clay | Laura-Ioana Andrei | Davinia Lobbinger  Efrat Mishor | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 7–4 | Oct 2008 | ITF Glasgow, Scotland | 25,000 | Hard | Laura-Ioana Andrei | Stefania Boffa  Amanda Elliott | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8–4 | May 2009 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 100,000 | Clay | Simona Halep | Julia Görges Sandra Klemenschits | 2–6, 6–1, |
| Win | 9–4 | Apr 2010 | ITF Incheon, South Korea | 25,000 | Hard |  Erika Sema | Misaki Doi Junri Namigata | 6–0, 7–6 |
| Loss | 9–5 | Jul 2010 | ITF Darmstadt, Germany | 25,000 | Clay | Erika Sema | Vitalia Diatchenko Laura Siegemund | 6–4, 1–6, |
| Win | 10–5 | Jul 2010 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 75,000 | Clay | Elena Bogdan | María Irigoyen Florencia Molinero | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 11–5 | Aug 2010 | ITF Hechingen, Germany | 25,000 | Clay | Anaïs Laurendon | Julia Schruff Erika Sema | 6–2, 4–6, |
| Win | 12–5 | Sep 2010 | ITF Podgorica, Montenegro | 25,000 | Clay | Mihaela Buzărnescu | Valeria Solovieva Maryna Zanevska | 5–7, 7–5, |
| Win | 13–5 | Sep 2010 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 25,000 | Clay | Elena Bogdan | Leticia Costas-Moreira Eva Fernández-Brugués | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 13–6 | Oct 2010 | ITF Madrid, Spain | 50,000 | Clay | Elena Bogdan | Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino María-Teresa Torró-Flor | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 13–7 | Nov 2010 | ITF Toyota, Japan | 75,000 | Carpet | Mădălina Gojnea | Shuko Aoyama Rika Fujiwara | 6–1, 3–6, |
| Win | 14–7 | Feb 2011 | ITF Cali, Colombia | 100,000 | Clay | Elena Bogdan | Ekaterina Ivanova Kathrin Wörle | 2–6, 7–6, |
| Win | 15–7 | Jun 2011 | ITF Marseille, France | 100,000 | Clay | Nina Bratchikova | Laura-Ioana Andrei Mădălina Gojnea | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 16–7 | Jul 2011 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 100,000 | Clay | Elena Bogdan | Maria Elena Camerin  İpek Şenoğlu | 6–7, 7–6, |
| Win | 17–7 | Jul 2012 | ITF Bucharest, Romania | 100,000 | Clay | Alizé Cornet | Elena Bogdan Raluca Olaru | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 18–7 | Mar 2014 | ITF São Paulo, Brazil | 25,000 | Clay | Alexandra Panova | María Irigoyen  María Fernanda Álvarez Terán | 6–4, 3–6 |
| Win | 19–7 | Apr 2014 | ITF Medellín, Colombia | 50,000 | Clay | María Irigoyen |  Monique Adamczak Marina Shamayko | 6–2, 7–6 |
| Loss | 19–8 | Jul 2014 | ITF Contrexéville, France | 100,000 | Clay | María Irigoyen | Alexandra Panova Laura Thorpe | 3–6, 0–4 ret. |