Excellent start to the season for Gabriela Ruse! Only one game lost and victory in 53 minutes
Article by David Istrate – Published on Friday, 02 January 2026, 09:18 / Updated on Friday, 02 January 2026 09:20
Gabriela Ruse (28 years old, 88 WTA), the first tennis player from Romania to perform in 2026, started the new year successfully. She needed just 53 minutes to beat Australia's Alana Subasic (18, 537 WTA), 6-1, 6-0, in the first round of qualifying for the WTA tournament in Brisbane.
On December 25, Christmas Day, Gabriela Ruse left for “Henri Coandă” airport in Bucharestfrom where he flew to Antipozi, where he spent the last days of 2025, preparing for the start of the new season.
Gabriela Ruse, 6-1, 6-0 over an 18-year-old opponent from Australia
After a simple New Year's Eve, which she did with Marta Kostyuk (23 years old, 26 WTA) and her team, Ruse entered the field on Friday, January 2, for a duel with the young Alana Subasic, from the Brisbane tournament qualifiers.
The Romanian played excellently, won 10 games in a row and prevailed 6-1, 6-0 in 53 minutes. So, Ruse qualified for the second round of qualifications, where he will face a more complicated duel.
The 28-year-old athlete will meet Turkish Zeynep Sonmez (23 years old, 112 WTA)who, in the inaugural round, was defeated 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (3) by Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (20 years old, 115 WTA, Andorra).
“I'm actually going to play two tournaments, in Brisbane and then in Adelaide, it's the first time I've chosen to play two tournaments before the Australian Open, I usually only play one, but this time I said I'd like to change the schedule a bit and play more matches,” said Ruse on December 25, in the interview given to journalists present at the airport.
If successful with Sonmez, Ruse will enter the main draw in Brisbane.
We will discuss at the end of next year (no where he would like to rank), but I think first of all I want to be healthy and be in the top 50. I shot a lot this year because it wasn't an easy year and I shot especially at the end of the year because I was almost out of the top 100 and the end of the year was really really difficult for me, but I'm glad I managed to stay in the top 100
– Gabriela Ruse
