Popa the youngest since Halep to win four World Tennis Tour titles
Romania’s Giulia Safina Popa continued her stunning form on the World Tennis Tour by winning her third successive title – and third in four weeks – at W15 Varna in Bulgaria.
The 16-year-old defeated Germany’s Sonja Zhenikhova 6-2 6-3 in the singles final to claim the fourth professional title of her career after recent triumphs at W15 Constanta and W15 Campulung and victory at W15 Galati in June.
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Although W15 events are the lowest graded tournaments on the World Tennis Tour, this still represents a significant achievement for a player of Popa’s age as she continues her journey along the player pathway.
Aged 16 years 329 days, Popa is the youngest Romanian player on record to win three consecutive World Tennis Tour titles and the youngest since Simona Halep in 2008 to win four or more World Tennis Tour titles.
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Twp-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Halep was aged 16 years and 234 days when she won her fourth World Tennis Tour title – not a bad player for Popa to be mentioned alongside.
By winning the titles at Constanta and Varna, Popa is projected to rise around 163 places in the WTA Rankings from No. 786 to a new career-high ranking around No. 623 at the next rankings update on Monday 12 October.
Popa, who represented her nation at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Junior Finals in Santiago, remains eligible to play junior tennis and is currently ranked No. 29 in the World Tennis Tour girls’ rankings.
A full list of results from the World Tennis Tour can be found here