Romanian tennis player
Raluca Olaru Full name Ioana Raluca Olaru Country (sports) Romania Residence Bucharest , RomaniaBorn (1989-03-03 ) 3 March 1989 (age 35) BucharestHeight 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Turned pro 2003 Retired 2024 Plays Right-handed (two–handed backhand) Prize money US$ 1,770,957 Career record 258–186 Career titles 11 ITF Highest ranking No. 53 (27 July 2009) Australian Open 1R (2008 , 2010 ) French Open 3R (2007 ) Wimbledon 2R (2009 , 2010 ) US Open 2R (2007 , 2008 ) Career record 337–273 Career titles 11 WTA , 15 ITF Highest ranking No. 30 (31 January 2022) Australian Open 2R (2010 , 2014 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2021 , 2022 ) French Open QF (2017 ) Wimbledon 3R (2021 , 2022 ) US Open 3R (2015 , 2021 ) Tour Finals Alt (2021 ) Olympic Games 2R (2016 , 2020 ) Australian Open 1R (2022 ) French Open 2R (2019 ) Wimbledon QF (2019 ) US Open QF (2018 ) Fed Cup 6–11
Ioana Raluca Olaru (born 3 March 1989) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. The winner of eleven singles and fifteen doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit ,[ 1] Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies ,[ 2] losing to Andrea Petkovic , in straight sets.[ 3] She also won eleven doubles titles on WTA Tour tournaments.
Olaru was a successful junior player. She was the runner–up in both junior singles and doubles at the 2005 French Open ,[ 4] and captured the 2006 US Open doubles title along with Mihaela Buzărnescu . Her best professional Grand Slam result has been the third round of the 2007 French Open , when she defeated the 30th seed Julia Vakulenko , in straight sets, and lost to eventual runner–up, the seventh seed Ana Ivanovic .[ 5] Olaru reached her highest singles ranking, world No. 53, on 27 July 2009, and her best doubles ranking, No. 30, on 31 January 2022.[ 1]
Olaru announced her retirement from tennis in June 2024.[ 6]
Ioana Raluca Olaru resides in her hometown Bucharest .[ 7] Her parents, Adrian and Doina, run a convenience store together.[ 8] Her sister Cristina is 16 years older than Olaru, and lives in London.[ 8] Olaru began playing tennis aged seven,[ 7] and cites Kim Clijsters ,[ 9] Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer as her role models.[ 8] She graduated from school in 2007, and is fluent in English , Spanish and Romanian .[citation needed ]
Raluca started her 2017 season at Shenzhen Open where she reached the final with Olga Savchuk , but they lost 1–6, 5–7 to Peng Shuai and Andrea Hlaváčková .
The following week, Olaru with Olga Savchuk won the doubles title at the Hobart International , it was her sixth WTA Tour doubles title.
Olaru considers being a fighter as her biggest asset.[ 8] She cites clay as her favourite surface[ 7] and backhand down the line as favourite shot,[ 9] but she can play well on all surfaces and she likes mixing her game with drop shots.[ 8] Olaru is currently coached by Adrian Gavrila, Adrian Cruciat and Artemon Apostu Efremov.[ 9]
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
DNQ
A
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Premier-Mandatory/Premier-5 tournaments[ edit ]
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)[ edit ]
Olaru at Wimbledon, 2013
Singles: 1 (runner-up)[ edit ]
Doubles: 24 (11 titles, 13 runner-ups)[ edit ]
Legend
Grand Slam
WTA 1000 (0–1)
WTA 500 (1–2)
WTA 250 (10–10)
Finals by surface
Hard (7–5)
Clay (4–7)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Loss
0–1
Jul 2008
Budapest Grand Prix , Hungary
Tier III[ a]
Clay
Vanessa Henke
Alizé Cornet Janette Husárová
7–6(7–5) , 1–6, [6–10]
Win
1–1
Oct 2008
Tashkent Open , Uzbekistan
Tier IV[ a]
Hard
Olga Savchuk
Nina Bratchikova Kathrin Wörle
5–7, 7–5, [10–7]
Win
2–1
Feb 2011
Mexican Open , Mexico
International
Hard
Mariya Koryttseva
Arantxa Parra Santonja Lourdes Domínguez Lino
5–7, 7–5, [10–7]
Loss
2–2
Apr 2013
Katowice Open , Poland
International
Clay (i)
Valeria Solovyeva
Lara Arruabarrena Lourdes Domínguez Lino
4–6, 5–7
Win
3–2
Jun 2013
Nuremberg Cup , Germany
International
Clay
Valeria Solovyeva
Anna-Lena Grönefeld Květa Peschke
2–6, 7–6(7–3) , [11–9]
Loss
3–3
May 2014
Nuremberg Cup, Germany
International
Clay
Shahar Pe'er
Michaëlla Krajicek Karolína Plíšková
0–6, 6–4, [6–10]
Loss
3–4
Jul 2014
Baku Cup , Azerbaijan
International
Hard
Shahar Pe'er
Alexandra Panova Heather Watson
2–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win
4–4
Oct 2014
Linz Open , Austria
International
Hard (i)
Anna Tatishvili
Annika Beck Caroline Garcia
6–2, 6–1
Loss
4–5
May 2015
Nuremberg Cup, Germany
International
Clay
Lara Arruabarrena
Chan Hao-ching Anabel Medina Garrigues
4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss
4–6
Apr 2016
Rabat Grand Prix , Morocco
International
Clay
Tatjana Maria
Xenia Knoll Aleksandra Krunić
3–6, 0–6
Win
5–6
Oct 2016
Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan (2)
International
Hard
İpek Soylu
Demi Schuurs Renata Voráčová
7–5, 6–3
Loss
5–7
Jan 2017
Shenzhen Open , China
International
Hard
Olga Savchuk
Andrea Hlaváčková Peng Shuai
1–6, 5–7
Win
6–7
Jan 2017
Hobart International , Australia
International
Hard
Olga Savchuk
Gabriela Dabrowski Yang Zhaoxuan
0–6, 6–4, [10–5]
Win
7–7
Jul 2017
Bucharest Open , Romania
International
Clay
Irina-Camelia Begu
Elise Mertens Demi Schuurs
6–3, 6–3
Win
8–7
May 2018
Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco
International
Clay
Anna Blinkova
Georgina García Pérez Fanny Stollár
6–4, 6–4
Win
9–7
May 2018
Strasbourg International , France
International
Clay
Mihaela Buzărnescu
Nadiia Kichenok Anastasia Rodionova
7–5, 7–5
Loss
9–8
Sep 2018
Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan
International
Hard
Irina-Camelia Begu
Olga Danilović Tamara Zidanšek
5–7, 3–6
Loss
9–9
Oct 2018
Kremlin Cup , Russia
Premier[ b]
Hard (i)
Darija Jurak
Alexandra Panova Laura Siegemund
2–6, 6–7(2–7)
Loss
9–10
Aug 2020
Prague Open , Czech Republic
International
Clay
Monica Niculescu
Lucie Hradecká Kristýna Plíšková
2–6, 2–6
Loss
9–11
Sep 2020
Italian Open , Italy
Premier 5[ c]
Clay
Anna-Lena Friedsam
Hsieh Su-wei Barbora Strýcová
2–6, 2–6
Win
10–11
Mar 2021
St. Petersburg Trophy , Russia
WTA 500
Hard (i)
Nadiia Kichenok
Kaitlyn Christian Sabrina Santamaria
2–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Loss
10–12
Jun 2021
Bad Homburg Open , Germany
WTA 250
Grass
Nadiia Kichenok
Darija Jurak Andreja Klepač
3–6, 1–6
Win
11–12
Aug 2021
Chicago Open , United States
WTA 250
Hard
Nadiia Kichenok
Lyudmyla Kichenok Makoto Ninomiya
7–6(8–6) , 5–7, [10–8]
Loss
11–13
Oct 2021
Kremlin Cup, Russia
WTA 500
Hard (i)
Nadiia Kichenok
Jeļena Ostapenko Kateřina Siniaková
2–6, 6–4, [8–10]
WTA Challenger finals [ edit ]
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)[ edit ]
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Singles: 18 (11 titles, 7 runner–ups)[ edit ]
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Opponent
Score
Loss
0–1
Aug 2004
ITF Iași, Romania
10,000
Clay
Monica Niculescu
6–7, 0–6
Win
1–1
Apr 2005
ITF Herceg Novi, Serbia
10,000
Clay
Miljana Adanko
7–5, 7–6(2)
Win
2–1
Jul 2005
ITF Bucharest, Romania
10,000
Clay
Anna Bastrikova
6–3, 6–2
Win
3–1
Aug 2005
ITF Bucharest, Romania
10,000
Clay
Mădălina Gojnea
7–6(3) , 7–5
Win
4–1
May 2006
ITF Bucharest, Romania
10,000
Clay
Sorana Cîrstea
1–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win
5–1
May 2006
ITF Rabat, Morocco
10,000
Clay
Samia Medjahdi
6–2, 2–6, 7–5
Loss
5–2
Jul 2006
ITF Mont-de-Marsan, France
25,000
Clay
Nina Bratchikova
4–6, 6–4, 0–6
Win
6–2
Nov 2006
ITF Toronto, Canada
25,000
Hard(i)
Carly Gullickson
6–3, 6–1
Win
7–2
Apr 2007
ITF Torrent, Spain
50,000
Clay
Andrea Petkovic
6–4, 5–7, 6–4
Loss
7–3
Apr 2007
ITF Catania, Italy
25,000
Clay
Darya Kustova
3–6, 6–2, 3–6
Win
8–3
Jul 2008
Contrexéville Open , France
50,000
Clay
Stéphanie Foretz Gacon
6–4, 6–2
Win
9–3
Jun 2009
Open de Marseille , France
100,000
Clay
Maša Zec Peškirič
6–7(4) , 7–5, 6–4
Win
10–3
Jul 2011
ITF Bad Saulgau, Germany
25,000
Clay
Tatjana Maria
6–3, 3–6, 7–5
Loss
10–4
Apr 2012
ITF Pomezia, Italy
10,000
Clay
Aliaksandra Sasnovich
6–0, 1–6, 1–6
Loss
10–5
Oct 2012
ITF Brasília, Brazil
25,000
Clay
Timea Bacsinszky
5–7, 2–6
Loss
10–6
Nov 2012
ITF Asunción, Paraguay
25,000
Clay
Verónica Cepede Royg
7–5, 6–7(7) , 2–6
Loss
10–7
Jan 2013
ITF Eilat, İsrael
10,000
Hard
Alla Kudryavtseva
7–6(4) , 3–6, 2–6
Win
11–7
Mar 2013
ITF Antalya, Turkey
10,000
Clay
Jovana Jakšić
6–3, 7–5
Doubles: 31 (15 titles, 16 runner–ups)[ edit ]
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Loss
0–1
Jun 2004
ITF Brașov, Romania
10,000
Clay
Lenore Lăzăroiu
Corina Corduneanu Alexandra Iacob
4–6, 5–7
Loss
0–2
Aug 2004
ITF Timișoara, Romania
10,000
Clay
Lenore Lăzăroiu
Sorana Cîrstea Gabriela Niculescu
1–6, 6–2, 2–6
Win
1–2
Sep 2004
ITF Cluj-Napoca, Romania
10,000
Clay
Corina Corduneanu
Veronika Raimrová Anamaria Sere
4–6, 6–0, 6–4
Win
2–2
Apr 2005
ITF Herceg Novi, Serbia
10,000
Clay
Antonia Xenia Tout
Aleksandra Lukič Patricia Vollmeier
6–4, 4–1 ret.
Win
3–2
July 2005
ITF Arad, Romania
10,000
Clay
Corina Corduneanu
Anna Bastrikova Vasilisa Davydova
6–1, 6–4
Win
4–2
Aug 2005
ITF Bucharest, Romania
10,000
Clay
Corina Corduneanu
Bianca Ioana Bonifate Sorana Cîrstea
6–1, 6–1
Win
5–2
Apr 2006
ITF Makarska, Croatia
10,000
Clay
Antonia Xenia Tout
Johanna Larsson Nadja Roma
6–4, 7–5
Loss
5–3
May 2006
ITF Bucharest, Romania
10,000
Clay
Simona Matei
Sorana Cîrstea Gabriela Niculescu
4–6, 6–0, 6–7(3)
Loss
5–4
May 2006
ITF Rabat, Morocco
10,000
Clay
María Fernanda Álvarez Terán
Bahia Mouhtassine Émilie Bacquet
w/o
Win
6–4
July 2006
ITF Mont-de-Marsan, France
25,000
Clay
Margalita Chakhnashvili
Akgul Amanmuradova Nina Bratchikova
7–5, 1–6, 6–1
Loss
6–5
Aug 2006
Ladies Open Hechingen , Germany
25,000
Clay
Kristina Antoniichuk
Eva Fislová Stanislava Hrozenská
3–6, 7–6(3) , 3–6
Loss
6–6
Nov 2006
ITF Toronto, Canada
25,000
Hard (i)
Heidi El Tabakh
Angelika Bachmann Hana Šromová
4–6, 1–6
Win
7–6
Sep 2010
ITF Biella, Italy
100,000
Clay
Mariya Koryttseva
Andreja Klepač Aurélie Védy
7–5, 6–4
Loss
7–7
Sep 2010
Open de Saint Malo , France
100,000
Clay
Mariya Koryttseva
Petra Cetkovská Lucie Hradecká
4–6, 2–6
Loss
7–8
Sep 2011
Sofia Cup , Bulgaria
100,000
Clay
Alexandra Cadanțu
Nina Bratchikova Darija Jurak
4–6, 5–7
Win
8–8
Jan 2012
ITF Innisbrook, United States
25,000
Clay
Darya Kustova
Gioia Barbieri Nadejda Guskova
6–3, 6–1
Loss
8–9
Feb 2012
Copa Cali , Colombia
100,000
Clay
Alexandra Cadanțu
Karin Knapp Mandy Minella
4–6, 3–6
Win
9–9
Apr 2012
ITF Civitavecchia, Italy
25,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
Claudia Giovine Marina Shamayko
6–3, 7–5
Win
10–9
Apr 2012
ITF Tunis, Tunisia
25,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
Inés Ferrer Suárez Richèl Hogenkamp
6–4, 6–3
Loss
10–10
May 2012
ITF Casablanca, Morocco
25,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
Olga Savchuk Renata Voráčová
1–6, 4–6
Loss
10–11
Jul 2012
Open Romania Ladies
100,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
Irina-Camelia Begu Alizé Cornet
2–6, 0–6
Win
11–11
Aug 2012
ITF Mamaia, Romania
25,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
Danka Kovinić Tadeja Majerič
7–6(4) , 6–3
Loss
11–12
Sep 2012
ITF Sofia, Bulgaria
25,000
Clay
Marina Melnikova
Katarzyna Piter Barbara Sobaszkiewicz
5–7, 1–6
Win
12–12
Oct 2012
ITF Brasília, Brazil
25,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
Timea Bacsinszky Julia Cohen
6–3, 3–6, [10–8]
Win
13–12
Nov 2012
ITF Buenos Aires, Argentina
25,000
Clay
Elena Bogdan
María Fernanda Álvarez Terán Maria Fernanda Alves
1–6, 6–2, [10–7]
Win
14–12
Jan 2013
ITF Eilat, Israel
10,000
Hard
Alla Kudryavtseva
Ilona Kremen Pemra Özgen
6–3, 6–3
Loss
14–13
Nov 2013
GB Pro-Series Barnstaple , UK
75,000
Hard (i)
Tamira Paszek
Naomi Broady Kristýna Plíšková
3–6, 6–3, [5–10]
Win
15–13
Jun 2015
Ilkley Trophy , UK
50,000
Grass
Xu Yifan
An-Sophie Mestach Demi Schuurs
6–3, 6–4
Loss
15–14
Aug 2015
Vancouver Open , Canada
100,000
Hard
Anna Tatishvili
Johanna Konta Maria Sanchez
6–7(5) , 4–6
Loss
15–15
Sep 2016
Neva Cup , Russia
100,000
Hard (i)
Alena Tarasova
Maria Marfutina Anna Morgina
2–6, 3–6
Loss
15–16
May 2017
Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer , France
100,000
Clay
Renata Voráčová
Chang Kai-chen Hsieh Su-wei
5–7, 1–6