Gabriela Ruse explained why she abandoned the duel with Magdalena Frech and revealed that participation in the doubles is in jeopardy
Article by David Istrate – Published on Monday, 25 May 2026 22:20 / Updated on Monday, 25 May 2026 22:21
Gabriela Ruse (28 years old, 77 WTA) was forced to drop out the confrontation with Magdalena Frech (28 years old, 46 WTA) in the first round at Roland Garros, at the score of 7-6 (5), 2-1 for the Pole. A day later, the Romanian woman explained the reason why she made this decision.
Gabriela Ruse was the first player from Romania to play in the main draw of Roland Garros this year. She had Magdalena Frech, a top 50 WTA player, as her opponent in the inaugural round.
The first set was extremely balanced, but the Pole prevailed in overtime: 7-6 (5). The tennis player ranked 77th in the world showed signs of not feeling well physically, but continued to play.
Gabriela Ruse: “I got sick because of the heat, I wasn't used to such heat”
However, after the 3rd game of the second set, with the score 2-1 for Frech, Ruse decided not to continue.
“Unfortunately, yesterday I didn't feel well at all. The acclimatization was not exactly ok for me, I felt very bad on the pitch and I thought it was a very big risk for me to continue that match“, said the 28-year-old athlete, who explained that her participation in the doubles competition, where she should have played with Marta Kostyuk against the Elise Mertens/Shuai Zhang pair, is also in jeopardy.
“It's not about any injury at all, I got sick because of the heat, it was very hot and I wasn't used to such heat. I still don't know if I will be able to participate in the doubles event, I'm still weak after everything that happened yesterday,” added Ruse, according to eurosport.ro.
“From the beginning of the match I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish the match because I wasn't ok, I wasn't well,” she concluded.
Gabriela Ruse, about Sorana Cîrstea: “I watched her matches when I was little”
After the abandonment of Gabriela and defeat of Jaqueline Cristian (27 years old, 32 WTA)Sorana Cîrstea (36 years old, 18 WTA) remained the only Romanian in the singles competition at Roland Garros. Ruse only had words of praise for the semi-finalist from Rome.
“I am very happy for Sorana. As a child I watched her matches and I am happy to see her on the field again. I don't think I'm in a position to advise her, but I think she found her best form at an older age“, she specified.
“You can see that she is enjoying herself more and more on the field and I think that every woman, every athlete, knows exactly what to do with her life and when to stop,” concluded Ruse.
