The pair of Zhibek Kulambayeva (174) and Alina Charayeva (862) sensationally reached the final of the Unicredit Iasi Open tournament in Romania. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In the semifinals, the Kazakh-Armenian tandem defeated the favorites, the top-seeded duo of Magali Kempen (Belgium, 52) and Alexandra Panova (Russia, 38) – 6:4, 7:6 (7:3).
The element of surprise. Among other factors, this can explain the victorious march of the pair with 50% Kazakh content through the tournament draw. 26-year-old Kulambayeva and 24-year-old Charayeva are not newcomers to tennis, but they are not very well-known on the tour. They had never advanced this far in a category '250' tournament before.
The experience of 37-year-old Panova and 26-year-old Kempen was insufficient to fully counter the mature play of their opponents. While Kulambayeva is a specialist in doubles, singles player Charayeva, who trains in Spain, successfully complements her more experienced doubles partner.
In the first set, Zhibek and Alina, leading 5:1, relaxed a bit, and the opponents reduced the deficit to a minimum, but the tenth game remained with the Kazakh and ex-Russian – 6:4.
In the second set, Charayeva served for the match, but Kempen and Panova broke her serve to love – 5:5. Eventually, it came to a tiebreak, where the superiority of the natives of Almaty and Samara was evident. After 1 hour and 50 minutes, the match clock stopped. 6:4, 7:6 (7:3), total points won – 73:66.
The opponents of Kulambayeva and Charayeva in the trophy match will be determined in the evening.
Earlier, Yulia Putintseva (82) left the Iasi tournament, losing a grueling three-hour match in 30-degree heat to Mayar Sherif (97) of Egypt – 2:6, 6:3, 6:7 (5:7).
The tennis Unicredit Iasi Open appeared recently – in 2022. In 2025, the clay court tournament in Iasi took the place of the Hungarian Grand Prix in the WTA calendar and received the '250' category.
The singles title has been won three times by local players. Except for 2024, when young Russian star Mirra Andreeva triumphed. The doubles title that year was won by the duo of Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) and Irina Khromacheva (Russia).
The prize fund of the Unicredit Iasi Open-2026 is $283,350. The top seed, Romanian Jaqueline Cristian (37), withdrew from the tournament at the last moment. Her place in the draw was taken by Putintseva.