Monica Niculescu

Monica Niculescu was born on September 25, 1987 in Slatina, Romania. A professional tennis player proudly representing her country, Monica had a notable an early start in playing tennis. The first time she ever played the sport was when she was just five years old. She turned pro in 2002.

Monica Niculescu is a right-handed player and her double-handed backhand is her strongest shot. Monica prefers to play on clay tennis surfaces, as it is her favorite.

In 2009, Niculescu faced several challenges, including a forearm injury, which caused her to withdraw from the Andalucia Tennis Experience and the Barcelona Ladies Open. Due to her challenges, she slipped out of the top 100 by the end of the year. However, the following year, she rallied to get back to the top 100 and reached her first WTA semifinal.

With one ITF doubles title and a semifinal win in Tashkent, she had another top 100 season in 2010. She was able to reach the semifinals at Beijing and Estoril, bringing her to world rank number 30 in 2011. While her ranking went down in 2012, she was a runner-up at Luxembourg and the quarterfinal at Doha.
In 2013, she was able to reach the semifinal Shenzhen and Monterrey apart from winning a WTA title. Niculescu finished 2014 at world number 47 after winning the Guangzhou WTA title and successful runs in other tournaments. Her rank went up to world number 39 in the next season even though she suffered from a left foot injury.

She won the Luxembourg WTA singles title in 2016 and enjoyed her third Top 40 season. In 2017, she finished at world rank 100 and won a WTA 125K Series title and a WTA doubles title. In the doubles division, she won a title at Hua Hin and was a finalist at Bronx in 2019.

Niculescu has had some highs and lows in her career. Since turning pro, Monica Niculescu has a career record of 493 victories and 340 losses. She has won 3 WTA, 1 WTA 125K, and 18 ITF career titles in singles. The highest rank she achieved in the singles division was at No. 28 in February 27, 2012. She is currently ranked No. 138 as of March 18, 2019.

In doubles, she has a career record of 430 victories and 249 losses. She has 8 WTA, 1 WTA 125K, and 22 ITF titles in doubles. The highest rank she achieved in the doubles division was at No. 11 in April 2, 2018. She is currently ranked No. 56 as of March 18, 2019.

Niculescu still has to win a Grand Slam tournament but has already made appearances at the four Grand Slam events. For her Grand Slam performance, she has not reached far in singles, but she has reached the finals round at Wimbledon in 2017. She also reached the semifinal round in the 2018 Australian Open.

Player Statistics:
• 493–340 (59.2%) career record – singles
• 3 Women’s Tennis Association career titles – singles
• 1 Women’s Tennis Association 125K career titles - singles
• 18 International Tennis Federation career titles – singles
• 430–249 (63.3%) career record - doubles
• 8 Women’s Tennis Association career titles - doubles
• 1 Women’s Tennis Association 125K career titles - singles
• 22 International Tennis Federation career titles – doubles