Preview WTA Transylvania Open Semi-final | Emma Raducanu and Sorana Cirstea set to clash against Ukrainian duo in bid for final

It is semi-final time in Cluj, with the 2026 Transylvania Open soon coming to a climax with a brace of tantalising matches with so much riding on them both. Four players will battle it out but only two can make it into the final and lock horns for glory.

The first semi-final sees the number one seed Emma Raducanu look to finally break her final duct after over four long years without challenging for a title in a final. To do this, she would need to continue her fine form in the land that her father was born, with Oleksandra Oliynykova standing in her way.

It has not been the smoothest start to the year for Raducanu. An injury hampered United Cup debut led straight into a huge missed opportunity in the Hobart International. The number one seed, Raducanu lost out to Taylah Preston who at the time was ranked outside the top 200. She would then lose against the reigning Transylvania Open champion Anastasia Potaopva in the second round of the Australian Open with a distinctively average performance.

It would be the last with Francisco Roig, with the Spaniard recently departing the side of the 23-year-old as Raducanu again goes into the market for another coach. However, so far so good without Roig. She kicked off the tournament with a bagel enroute to a comfortable 6-0, 6-4 win over Greet Minnen ahead of a huge scare against Kaja Juvan. Her opponent streaked into a 5-0 lead in the first set, but Raducanu would respond in ominous fashion. She won 11 games on the spin and 13 of the remaining 14 to send the Slovenian home and enter a second quarter-finals of 2026.

In a carbon copy of her first match, she soared into a 6-0 lead over qualifier Maja Chwalinska before comfortably seeing it out 6-0, 6-4. She had cemented her spot in a first WTA semi-final since the DC Open back in 2025, and only her fifth career semi-final on the WTA Tour. She did do with by dropping just 14 games in three matches and will look to be as flawless against her Ukrainian opponent.

It will not be easy, with Oliynykova a tough player to compete against with her liking to utilise looping shots towards the baseline which are tricky to return. Her style has been questioned but it has most certainly done the job in Romania this week, but not without some sketchy moments.

A solid comeback win against Mayar Sherif was culminated by defeating the eighth seed Anna Bondar. She then picked up a first top 50 win of her career against Xinyu Wang while saving an incredible 21 break points throughout in a 6-4, 6-4 win. New ground has been broken for Oliynykova with a first WTA semi-final set to be played. It will be an uphill task, as she will need to be at her best to book a spot in the final.

It is the final year on tour for Sorana Cirstea, and she is making the most of it, especially in her home country. It will be a final Transylvania Open, and she is looking to go out with a bang. To get into a first final in her home country, she has to defeat the former Wimbledon girls champion Daria Snigur.

The Romanian has wowed her fans with some brilliant tennis this week, showing her strong title credentials while putting on a show for the spectators. The number three seed comes off the back of sparking a heap of controversy from the Australian Open after a debacle at the net with Naomi Osaka after she lost in three sets to the two-time champion.

She is now over it, and is yet to drop a set in Cluj. Kamila Rakhimova was the first victim in a tight match before she dropped just one game against Tamara Zidansek in a routing. She then dumped out the reigning champion Anastasia Potapova in a very solid performance to book her spot in the semi-finals. Her longevity shows in when she won her first and last titles. Her maiden WTA success came all the way back in 2008 with her most recent coming in August of last year.

It is yet to be seen whether she can add another one to her CV, but first she must fend off Snigur who, like her fellow Ukrainian in the other semi-final, is in her first ever WTA semi-final with the final within reach.

She has never really kicked on since joining the WTA after a promising youth career. She has on 11 ITF titles but never come close to making the next step. This could be her chance, however, but it will not be easy against an inform opponent.

The qualifier started out with a commanding win over Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah before upsetting the crowd with a ruthless victory over the Romanian number one Jaqueline Cristian. After both players broke in their opening games, Snigur did not look back as she won the remaining 11 games to blast into the quarter-finals where she would drop her first set of the tournament against Yue Yuan but fight back and take the victory in a tight final set.