Emma Raducanu, the crowd favorite at the WTA 250 event in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, is one win away from a first WTA final appearance since her storied 2021 US Open run. But in her way is the rising Oleksandra Oliynykova from Ukraine, with home favorite Sorana Cirstea also looming on the bottom half of the draw. LWOT previews Friday’s semifinals, with a spot in Saturday’s finale on the line. Who will advance?
WTA Cluj-Napoca Semifinal Predictions
Sorana Cirstea vs Daria Snigur
Head-to-head: First meeting
Cirstea will look to fire up a home crowd in her final season on the WTA Tour, while the Romanian is nonetheless eyeing an eighth career final at the Tour level. Her groundstrokes have been sharp this week, and she’s a lot more experienced on the big stage compared to the lower-ranked Snigur. The Ukrainian did silence Romanian fans with a 6-1 6-0 drubbing over No. 2 seed Jaqueline Cristian. She then followed that match up with a seesaw quarterfinal win over Yue Yuan. Yet, the 35-year-old is a bit more predictable and should have the motivation to get through in two.
Prediction: Cirstea in 2
Emma Raducanu vs Oleksandra Oliynykova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Getting past the semifinal stage has been a mental block, perhaps, for the 2021 US Open champion Raducanu. She is 0-3 in semifinal matches since her Grand Slam feat, though the losses have been to high-caliber players: Anna Kalinskaya, Katie Boulter and Jelena Ostapenko.
Oliynykova is a tricky player who is starting to climb her way up the rankings. She produced a 57-19 record at all levels of the WTA Tour in 2025, and dropped one set this week to Mayar Sherif. When Raducanu was heavily favored against the far lower-ranked Taylah Preston, unforced errors flew off the Brit’s racquet; she was ultimately stunned 6-2 6-4. I see this match going either way, given Raducanu’s potential nerves and Oliynykova’s strong mentality all week. However, the Brit has had fans on her side all week, and she looked convincing in three straightforward wins. Look for Raducanu to reach the final and snap a difficult streak.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
