Irina Spîrlea
| Country (sports) | Romania |
|---|---|
| Residence | Rome, Italy |
| Born |
26 March 1974 Bucharest, Romania |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | 1990 |
| Retired | 2000 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one handed-backhand) |
| Prize money | US$ 2,652,068 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 291–189 |
| Career titles | 4 WTA, 3 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 7 (13 October 1997) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1997) |
| French Open | 4R (1994, 1996, 1997) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1997, 1998) |
| US Open | SF (1997) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 200–154 |
| Career titles | 6 WTA, 5 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 16 (2 October 1995) |
Irina Spîrlea (born 26 March 1974 in Bucharest) is a former tennis player from Romania, who turned professional in 1990. She won four singles and six doubles titles during her career. Spîrlea reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA Tour on 13 October 1997, when she became number 7 in the world. She retired in 2000.
Spîrlea married her former coach, Italian Massimiliano Pace, in 2001, and has a son, Tommaso, born in 2002, as well as a younger daughter, Francesca.
Irina Spîrlea is one of the most successful Romanian female tennis players, being one of only three to have reached the top 10 (the others being Virginia Ruzici and Simona Halep.) Her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was a semi-final at the US Open in 1997. She won the WTA's Newcomer of the Year award in 1994.
In 1996 Spîrlea became the first player in the history of the Women's Tennis Association to receive a match default for conduct when she swore at an official in "gutter Italian" during a match played in Palermo, Italy.
Spîrlea is known for a bumping incident with Venus Williams during a changeover in the semi-finals of the 1997 US Open. Spîrlea collided with Williams near the net post while changing ends, claiming that Venus Williams was arrogant and didn't move. Spîrlea went on to lose the match 6–7, 6–4, 6–7 in a third-set tiebreak, after holding two match points, at 6–4 and 6–5 in the tie breaker. Williams' father blamed Spîrlea's racism as the cause of the collision and later called her an "ugly, white turkey". Spîrlea cited Williams' arrogance, saying in a press conference following the match, "I'm not going to move. She never tries to turn" and "She thinks she's the (expletive) Venus Williams." Williams however shrugged off the confrontation saying "I thought we both weren't looking. I'm sorry she feels that way. It's not a big thing to me. No one said 'Excuse me'.
Spîrlea's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher is as follows:
Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.
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