Alice Pirsu (born 16 May 1979) is a former professional tennis player from Romania.

Alice Pirsu
Country (sports) Romania
Born (1979-05-16) 16 May 1979 (age 45)
Bucharest, Romania
Prize money$26,301
Singles
Career record78–70
Career titles1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 200 (20 July 1998)
Doubles
Career record47–46
Career titles1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 223 (20 July 1998)
Team competitions
Fed Cup4–6

Biography

edit

Born in Bucharest, Pirsu competed on the professional tour in the 1990s. As a junior, she had a top ranking of 24 and reached the second round at Wimbledon.[1]

Beginning on the ITF Circuit in 1994, she won her biggest title at Athens in 1997, defeating Evgenia Kulikovskaya in the final of a $25k tournament.[2] She played five singles and five doubles rubbers for Romania's Fed Cup team across 1997 and 1998, in a total of seven ties. In 1998, her final year on tour, she reached her best singles ranking of 200 in the world.

Pirsu left the professional tennis circuit to attend the University of Pennsylvania. While studying for her economics degree she was a co-captain of the university's tennis team, the Penn Quakers, earning the Ivy League Player of the Year award in both 2002 and 2003. She made the final eight of the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, becoming the first Quakers player to have done so.[3]

She is now based in New York and runs an interior design company in Pelham.[4]

ITF finals

edit

Singles (1–3)

edit
Legend
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 31 August 1997 ITF Athens, Greece Clay   Evgenia Kulikovskaya 4–6, 7–5, 6–3
Runner-up 2. 7 September 1997 ITF Cluj, Romania Clay   Desislava Topalova 3–6, 7–5, 3–6
Runner-up 3. 12 October 1997 ITF Thessaloniki, Greece Hard   Antoaneta Pandjerova 2–6, 2–6
Runner-up 4. 20 September 1998 ITF Constanta, Romania Clay   Anna Zaporozhanova 6–7, 1–6

Doubles (1–6)

edit
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 7 August 1995 ITF İstanbul, Turkey Hard   Raluca Sandu   Gülberk Gültekin
  Selin Nassi Tekikbas
2–6, 2–6
Winner 2. 24 June 1996 ITF Maribor, Slovenia Clay   Alida Gallovits   Kira Nagy
  Andrea Noszály
6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 3. 18 August 1996 ITF İstanbul, Turkey Hard   Khoo Chin-bee   İpek Şenoğlu
  Desislava Topalova
1–6, 4–6
Runner-up 4. 28 July 1997 ITF Horb, Germany Clay   Magda Mihalache   Julia Abe
  Renee Reid
3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 5. 1 September 1997 ITF Cluj-Napoca, Romania Clay   Magda Mihalache   Olga Vymetálková
  Blanka Kumbárová
6–7(3), 6–4, 4–6
Runner-up 6. 6 April 1998 ITF Athens, Greece Clay   Andreea Ehritt-Vanc   Alice Canepa
  Tatiana Garbin
7–5, 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 7. 14 September 1998 ITF Constanța, Romania Hard   Nino Louarsabishvili   Debby Haak
  Jolanda Mens
3–6, 6–7(5)

References

edit
  1. ^ "Wimbledon Results". Cumberland Times News. 5 July 1995. p. 24.
  2. ^ "$25,000 Athens II". International Tennis Federation.
  3. ^ Burrick, David (22 May 2003). "Alice Pirsu advances to Quarterfinals". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  4. ^ "Children's books inspire Christmas tree display". The Riverdale Press. 24 December 2014.
edit