Maria Sara Popa
| File:MariaSaraPopa.jpg Popa in 2023 | |
| Country (sports) |  Romania |
|---|---|
| Residence | Bucharest, Romania |
| Born | 29 July 2005 Bucharest, Romania |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Plays | Left-handed (double-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Ioan Raul Popa |
| Prize money | US$ 13,496 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 71–61 (53.8%) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 743 (24 July 2023) |
| Current ranking | No. 743 (24 July 2023) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 11–20 (35.5%) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 938 (22 May 2023) |
| Current ranking | No. 975 (24 July 2023) |
| Last updated on: 24 July 2023. | |
Maria Sara Popa (born 29 July 2005)[1] is a Romanian tennis player. She reached No. 1 in the Tennis Europe U14 Rankings,[2][3] in May 2019 and has a career high of No. 9 in the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour Rankings,[4] achieved in April 2022.
Popa, who began playing at the age of 4, has a career-high singles ranking by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) of 743.[5] She played two ITF Women's singles finals[6][7] in 2023 and is amongst the world's Top 30 players under 18,[8] ranked in the WTA. Amongst the players from her country, Maria is the best U18 ranked Romanian in the WTA,[8] the youngest with an ITF Women's singles final in the last six years[9] and the only one to reach No. 1 in the Tennis Europe U14 Rankings, since 2013.[10] She is coached by her father, Ioan Raul Popa.[5]
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0-1 | May 2023 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | 15,000 | Clay |  Natalia Siedliska
|
3-6, 2-6 |
| Loss | 0-2 | July 2023 | ITF Bacău, Romania | 15,000 | Clay |  Amelie Van Impe
|
2-6, 1-6 |
ITF junior finals
| Legend |
|---|
| Category GA |
| Category G1 |
| Category G2 |
| Category G3 |
| Category G4 |
| Category G5 |
Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Grade | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 2020 | ITF Oradea, Romania | G4 | Clay | Cara Maria Meșter
|
4–6, 7–6(7-0), 5–7 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jan 2021 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | G3 | Clay |  Melis Ayda Uyar
|
6–3, 6–2 |
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Grade | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Sep 2020 | ITF Constanța, Romania | G5 | Clay | Vanessa Popa Teiusanu
|
Anca Todoni Floriana Popovici
|
7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Sep 2020 | ITF Oradea, Romania | G4 | Clay | Vanessa Popa Teiusanu
|
Stefania Bojica Cara Maria Meșter
|
0–6, 1–6 |
Tennis Europe finals and summary
Popa won five out of the nine singles finals she played on this circuit and two out of the eight she played in doubles.[11] The last title she won in May 2019 was also the title which helped her achieve the No. 1 position in the U14 age category.[3]
Overall Singles record: 124-46 (72.9%)
Overall Doubles record: 47-27 (63.5%)
UTR Pro Tennis Tour finals and summary
The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) Pro Tennis Tour is an alternative to the WTA and ITF tours. Popa reached the final in both tournaments that she played in. She lost the first one to Ioana Gaspar in May 2022[12] and the second one to Ukraine's Alisa Baranovska in June 2023.[13]
Overall record: 8-4 (66.7%), including group stage matches.
References
- ^ "Popa's birth date". Petits As.
- ^ "Tennis Europe - Popa's U14 Ranking". Tennis Europe.
- ^ a b "Romanian pair closes in on ranking top spots". by www.tenniseurope.org (published 26 May 2019). n.d.
- ^ "ITF Women's World Tennis Tour - Popa's Ranking". at www.itftennis.com.
- ^ a b "WTA Official Profile of Maria Sara Popa". at www.wtatennis.com.
- ^ "W15 Antalya tournament Draw (ITF Women's World Tennis Tour)". at www.itftennis.com. 2023-05-14.
- ^ "W15 Bacău tournament Draw (ITF Women's World Tennis Tour)". at www.itftennis.com. 2023-07-16.
- ^ a b "WTA Open Era Rankings - Top 30 Players U18". at www.openerarankings.com.
- ^ Kiarash, Amir (2023-05-16). "A rare result for Romanian tennis: Maria Sara Popa is the 1st to achieve it, after 6 years". at www.adevarul.ro (in Romanian).
- ^ "Career's result for Maria Sara Popa: what a performance the tennis player has achieved". by www.ziare.com (in Romanian). 2022-10-30.
- ^ "Tennis Europe - Popa's titles and finals". at www.tenniseurope.org.
- ^ "UTR PTT $25K ROU, May 2022 - Draws (Group B)". at www.universaltennis.com. 2022-05-22.
- ^ "UTR PTT $25K ROU, June 2023 - Draws (Group C)". at www.universaltennis.com. 2023-06-18.