During one stage of her career, Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru found an unlikely source of help to get through a testing situation.
The former top 30 player underwent the first of three major surgeries back in 2015. Following on from the procedure, she was left without a sponsor on the tour. Struggling for sportswear, the Romanian managed to enlist the help of Venus Williams and her fashion label. The former world No.1 launch EleVen back in 2007. A fitness clothing label that is run and designed by Williams herself.
“After the first surgery, I had no sponsor and nobody was interested in working with me because my ranking was so low. So I talked to Venus, because I had seen other players dressed in Eleven and asked if she could send me some clothes.” Dulgheru said during an interview with treizecizero.ro.
“She sent me a bag from Rome and then she kept doing it for the rest of the year. Her clothes are very pretty and I always showed her pictures from my matches.
“After a year, when I got a contract with Sergio Tacchini, I told her and she was fine with it, because her brand only offers the clothes, without contracts. I like her and I respect her a lot as a player.”
The two players locked horns on the tour earlier this year at Wimbledon in the second round. 37-year-old Williams battled back from a set down to prevail 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. The encounter was the first time that Dulgheru played in a grand slam main draw for more than two years. It was also the first time she had played a grass-court event since 2015. The 29-year-old has been dodged by knee injury problems in recent time.
“I’m happy that I’m fit and my knee is holding up well, this is what matters most. It’s never going to be the same, I will need to do recovery work every day and take medication to manage the pain, but I can play.” She said about the problem.
Currently ranked 125th in the world, Dulgheru played in this week Bucharest Open. She lost in the first round to seventh seed Pauline Parmentier. Her win-loss record for the season now stands at 11-11.
Dulgheru has won two WTA titles so far in her career. Her last was back in 2010 at the Warsaw Open in Poland.
