WTA 250 Iasi Draw: Avanesyan and Cristian as Top Seeds, Gracheva to Face Former Champion Bogdan

Women's tennis heads to Romania next week, specifically to Iasi, where 32 players will compete to succeed Mirra Andreeva as the tournament champion.

The Russian, who broke into the top 10 this year, won the final last year against Elina Avanesyan. The latter returns to the event, this time as the No. 1 seed. She will face wildcard Andreea Prisacariu in her opening match, with a potential quarterfinal clash against Varvara Gracheva.

Currently the only Frenchwoman in the main draw (Margaux Rouvroy and Selena Janicijevic advanced through the first round of qualifying), Gracheva will take on Ana Bogdan, the winner of the first two editions in 2022 and 2023 but now ranked 247th in the world.

Jacqueline Cristian, ranked 52nd, is the No. 2 seed and will face a qualifier. In the quarterfinals, she could meet Francesca Jones, who just claimed the title at the WTA 125 in Contrexéville.

Another notable first-round matchup features Sorana Cirstea (35) against Mihaela Buzarnescu (37), two local players and former top-25 stars.