Raducanu was handed a brutal 6-0 6-2 loss in the showpiece, which marked her first WTA final appearance since winning the 2021 US Open as a qualifier aged just 18. The 23-year-old’s performance dropped considerably from the high level she had demonstrated up to the final, having arrived as the tournament’s top seed. Even so, her strong showing prior to the humiliating final gave her a boost in the world singles rankings, rising from world No. 30 to No. 25. It marks Raducanu’s best ranking since August 2022, when she was the world No. 11 going into her 2022 US Open title defence, before losing in the second round and plummeting to No. 83.

She has endured a gruelling past few years, with repeated injury setbacks and a lack of form seeing her tumble down the world rankings. Yet, over the past year, Raducanu has started to get into her stride and steadily ascend the rankings.

On her way to the final, Raducanu claimed straight-sets victories over opponents such as Greet Minnen, Kaja Juvan and Maja Chwalinska. The semi-finals presented a far more difficult challenge, from which she emerged victorious against Ukrainian star Oleksandra Oliynykova in three sets and nearly three hours of battle.

Raducanu said after losing out to Cirstea: “Today was obviously really tough. Sorana played a great match, for sure. I’ve been dealing with some health issues and just not feeling great this week. Yesterday was obviously a battle and today I felt quite tired. I just need to try to rest as best as possible.

“But honestly, I couldn’t do anything against Sorana today. She was playing incredible tennis and has been all week. I can’t praise her enough, how good she’s been and how nice of a person she is. It’s great to have someone like her around on the tour.”

The new world No. 25 also said: “I think my game has improved. I’ve made progress and I’ve been doing the right work over the past few weeks, so I’m very happy with how my game is developing. Today it was difficult to make a fair assessment but overall I think it’s moving in the right direction. I know there’s still a lot to improve but I’m happy to see some rewards for doing things the right way.”

She will travel to Doha for the Qatar Open next, where she hopes to maintain her level against Camila Osorio at the first WTA 1000 of the year. Since the Briton exited the Qatar Open in round one last year, she basically has no points to defend, meaning it will be another great chance for her to continue her ranking rise.