After many years, Romania has a player with great potential in the WTA circuit. And we are not talking about a sportswoman promoted by the media after a single notable result, but one who shows constant growth.
Anca Todoni. PHOTO: GettyImages
Anca Todoni (19 years old) was Romania’s pleasant surprise on the first day of Wimbledon 2024. In fact, the only one, considering that, in turn, Irina Begu, Sorana Cîrstea and Jaqueline Cristian left the competition after the inaugural round. However, Todoni, coming from the qualifications, after three victories with Makarova (177 WTA), Birrell (132 WTA) and Parrizas-Diaz (165 WTA), had a bit of luck. Because her opponent in the first round, the Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto (43 WTA) got injured and was replaced, on the last hundred meters, by Olga Danilovic (Serbia, 23 years old, 116 WTA), lucky-loser.
Even though Danilovic was definitely below Cocciaretto’s level, Todoni had no fond memories of the last confrontation with the 23-year-old Serbian. Because, in May, even Danilovic blocked her way to the main draw at the French Open, defeating her in the first round of the qualifications (6-1, 4-6, 6-1).
This time, however, in London, the Romanian got her revenge, winning in a minimum of sets: 7-5, 6-1. And the success, achieved at the first appearance on the board of a Grand Slam, was all the sweeter, as it secured Ancai a huge check of 110,000 euros, for access to the second round at Wimbledon! Where is the American Coco Gauff (20 years old, 2 WTA) waiting for her.
It is clear that Todoni starts with a second chance in today’s game, but regardless of the result, we can count on the fact that the Timisoara player has great potential.
Entry into the Top 100 follows
Until this season, Todoni had played only in the ITF competitions, a kind of second league of women’s tennis. Her balance sheet? Five titles and three lost finals. Thanks to these results, Todoni climbed, from one season to another, in the world ranking. Here are the places he was at the end of each year:
2021: 1,433 WTA
2022: 821 WTA
2023: 244 WTA
2024, live ranking, at the moment: 118 WTA
With 621 points to her credit, after the course so far since Wimbledon, Anca is only 101 points away from breaking into the Top 100. So, we are talking, to a large extent, about an achievable goal in the coming weeks. After which the Romanian will have other opportunities. Because, for example, she will be exempt from qualifying for major tournaments, having the chance to enter the draw directly.
According to welovesport.ro, starting from 2021, Todoni started collaborating with Arc Pro Tennis. Here, he trained under the command of famous people from our tennis, led by Artemon Apostu Efremov, Adrian Cruciat, Adrian Gavrila or Raluca Olaru.
With a height of 1.84 meters, Anca has an aggressive style of play, as she herself said in a dialogue with journalist Gabriel Morariu: “I rely a lot on the serve and the second shot. I try to build a game as aggressive as possible, to take away the opponent’s time. I aim to get the ball as quickly as possible to shorten the points. I watch Elena Rybakina every chance I get. Her playing style suits me best. He is a great inspiration to me. I also like Sabalenka, but she hits a lot straighter, but I also draw inspiration from her when it comes to finishing the point“.
Todoi admitted that her journey so far has been a surprise for her as well: “The rise is beyond my expectations. I learned to manage game moments much better. I didn’t think too much about the ranking, though, and I think that also helped me climb“.
And her sister plays tennis
At Wimbledon, Todoni is accompanied by her father, Călin, but also by coach Adrian Cruciat. In dialogue with prosport.ro, Călin Todoni revealed that his youngest daughter also practices tennis, now being with his wife at a tournament in the Futures category, in Galați.
“As for Anca, our great luck is that, for the last three years, we have been training with Adrian Cruciat and Artemon Apostu in Bucharest. For this, I stay two weeks in Timișoara and the next two in Bucharest, where my wife moved with Anca and our youngest daughter. At Wimbledon, I was happy that they changed Anca’s opponent after the withdrawal of Elisabetta Cocciaretto. But also in the match with Danilovic, I had to smoke a cigarette to control my emotions“, said Călin Todoni.
Appearing on the show “Poveștile Sport.ro”, moderated by Andru Nenciu, coach Artemon Apostu-Efremov confirmed that Anca Todoni has the necessary assets to succeed in tennis: “He plays well, he is a special person, with a professionalism that you rarely meet. We are also curious how high it can go. So far, he has made tremendous progress“.
Eurosport and the Max platform broadcast the tournament from Wimbledon.
Romania at Wimbledon 2024, women’s singles
Round I
Irina Begu (127 WTA) – Lin Zhu (60 WTA)
0-6, 4-6
Anca Todoni (141 WTA) – Olga Danilovic (116 WTA)
7-5, 6-1
Sorana Cîrstea (29 WTA) – Sonay Kartal (295 WTA)
6-3, 2-6, 0-6
Jaqueline Cristian (62 WTA) – Bianca Andreescu (165 WTA)
4-6, 2-6
Ana Bogdan (50 WTA) – Cristina Bucșa (63 WTA)
4-6, 6-4, 6-7
Gabriela Ruse (152 WTA) – Elena Rybakina (4 WTA)
3-6, 1-6
Round II
Anca Todoni (141 WTA) – Coco Gauff (2 WTA)
Today, after 13.00, Romanian time.
