Kazakh tennis player Yulia Putintseva (world No. 82) ended her run at the WTA 250 tournament in Iasi, Romania, losing in the quarterfinals to Egyptian Mayar Sherif (97) 2:6, 6:3, 6:7 (5:7), according to infohub.kz.
In the first set, Putintseva broke back in the second game to make it 1:1, but then lost her serve twice in a row. Despite breaking again at 1:5, she dropped serve once more and lost the set 2:6.
The Kazakh player confidently took the second set, showcasing her trademark disruptive style. She broke Sherif three times and won 6:3.
The deciding set was a gritty battle with many long rallies. In the three-hour match played in 30°C heat, both players pushed themselves to the limit. Putintseva lost serve in the 10th game but prevented Sherif from serving for the match, forcing a tiebreak at 6:6.
On the tiebreak, Sherif led 2:0, then 5:2, but Putintseva closed to 5:4. However, Sherif converted her third match point to win 7:6 (7:5). The match lasted 3 hours and 9 minutes. Putintseva hit one ace and one double fault; Sherif had no aces and three double faults. Total points won: 102-100 in Sherif's favor.
Zhibek Kulambayeva (174) remains in contention at the Unicredit Iasi Open. Partnering with former Russian Alina Charaeva (862), who now represents Armenia, she will play in the semifinals later tonight against top seeds — Belgian Magali Kempen (52) and Russian Alexandra Panova (38). In the quarterfinals, the Kazakh-Armenian duo defeated Spanish Georgina Garcia Perez (499) and Russian Alevtina Ibragimova (315) 6:2, 7:5.
The Unicredit Iasi Open has been held since 2022. In 2025, the clay-court tournament in Iasi replaced the Hungarian Grand Prix on the WTA calendar and was elevated to a 250 category. Local players have won the singles title three times, while Russian Mirra Andreeva won in 2024. The doubles title that year went to Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) and Irina Khromacheva (Russia).
The prize money for the 2026 Unicredit Iasi Open is $283,350. Top-seeded Romanian Jacqueline Cristian (37) withdrew from the tournament at the last moment, and Putintseva took her place in the draw.