Burel Withdraws Against Todoni in the Semifinals of the WTA 125 Antalya Tournament

For her first tournament of the 2025 season, Clara Burel hoped to qualify for the final in Antalya. In the Turkish city, the 23-year-old player won three consecutive matches against Nuria Parrizas Diaz (6-1, 2-6, 6-3), Darja Semenistaja (6-2, 6-2), and her compatriot Chloé Paquet (6-2, 6-4).

In the semifinals, the last French player remaining in the tournament faced Anca Todoni, a 20-year-old Romanian player ranked 100th in the world. The latter had fought hard to reach the semifinals, defeating Panna Udvardy (4-6, 6-4, 6-2), Jana Fett (6-3, 6-2), and Arantxa Rus (6-7, 6-4, 6-2) in succession.

Unfortunately, the highly anticipated battle between the two players did not materialize. Todoni quickly took control. Despite an immediate break back at the start of the match, Burel could not keep up.

Not yet at 100% physically after several months away from the court, the world No. 148 was forced to retire (6-2, 3-2 ret.) after calling for a medical timeout for a back injury at the end of the first set.

Although her tournament did not end as she would have hoped, the Rennes native can take solace in knowing she will climb to 135th place on Monday with the release of the new WTA rankings, thanks to her performance in Antalya. Meanwhile, Todoni advances to the final and will face either Leyre Romero Gormaz or Maja Chwalinska, who defeated Elsa Jacquemot in the quarterfinals.