Iga Swiatek remembered Simona Halep and Sorana Cîrstea and praised Romanian tennis: “Very many talented players”
Article by David Istrate – Published Monday, November 17, 2025, 2:20 p.m. / Updated Monday, November 17, 2025, 2:25 p.m.
Iga Swiatek (24 years old, 2 WTA) brought a point to Poland in victory against Romania, score 3-0in Pool B of the Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs. After the match, the Wimbledon champion said a few words about Romanian tennis and about the matches lost by our singles players.
On Sunday, November 16, Romania was defeated 3-0 by Poland, in group B of the Billie Jean King Cup play-off, and will continue to play in Group I Europe/Africa. Here are the matches played between the Romanians and the Poles:
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Ruxandra Bertea vs. Linda Klimovicova: 2-6, 1-6
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Gabriela Lee vs. Iga Swiatek: 2-6, 0-6
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Mara Gae/ Monica Niculescu vs. Katarzyna Kawa/Martyna Kubka: 2-6, 3-6
Iga Swiatek, compliment for the players from Romania: “They fight until the end and have a good spirit”
After the victory over Gabriela Lee, Iga Swiatek participated in a press conference where she remembered Simona Halep and Sorana Cîrstea and praised the Romanian players.
“I feel that I know Romanian tennis very well. I played with Simona, Sorana. Also with Prisăcariu and other junior players. Although you are a small country, you have a lot of talented players. They always fight to the end and have a good spirit on the pitch. It's always tricky against them“, said the world number 2, according to eurosport.ro.
Swiatek also talked about both her loss to Ruxandra Bertea and her match with Gabriela Lee.
“The beginning of the first match was balanced. She (No. Ruxandra Bertea) fought and ran after all the balls, even though Linda played with a very high speed and confidence. After that, Linda took the intensity even higher, that's why I think it ended the way it did,” explained the 24-year-old athlete.
“Regarding my match, even though the score shows it was quite easy, she (No. Gabriela Lee) didn't give me any free balls, I had to force the point close a couple of times. There were a lot of long rallies, I think the fans liked it. I am happy that I could play such a match”, concluded Swiatek.
Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep met 4 times, the score being 2-2. The last duel took place in 2022, in the semifinals of Indian Wells, where the Pole won 7-6 (6), 6-4.
Swiatek faced Sorana Cîrstea 6 times and won all the matches, 2 of them this year in Cincinnati and Seoul.
