Heart-warming scenes at Transylvania Open as Patricia Maria Tig rushes to embrace daughter Sofia after hard-fought 1R win

Patricia Maria Tig celebrated her hard-fought victory in the first round of the 2023 Transylvania Open by lovingly embracing her daughter, Sofia.

The WTA 250 event kicked off at the BTarena in Cluj-Napoca, Romania on October 16. Tig commenced her campaign at her home tournament against Greek qualifier Martha Matoula. She made a strong start to the match, winning the opening set 6-4. However, Matoula bounced back strongly to clinch the second set in a tiebreak after an 81-minute long battle, forcing a decider.

Despite recording 14 double faults, the Romanian displayed her resilience to claim a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory in over three hours. She capitalized on 10 of her 18 break point opportunites and won 119 of the 229 points on offer over the course of the match.

Following her win, Patricia Maria Tig quickly made her way to the stands and hugged her daughter Sofia. The 29-year-old appeared overcome with emotion after her grueling victory.

While Sofia initially indulged her mother's embrace, her youthful energy soon got the best of her. The five-year-old playfully squirmed in Tig's arms, even hanging upside down for a moment, before running off to explore the court.

Patricia Maria Tig and husband Razvan Sabau welcomed their daughter Sofia in November 2018. Sabau is Tig's longtime coach and a former Romanian tennis player.

Tig took a two-year long break from the competitive tennis circuit in 2017 due to persistent back issues. She made a return to the court in 2019, following the birth of her daughter.

The Romanian took time off after the 2021 Wimbledon Championships as well. She made a comeback earlier this year, entering the Hobart International and Australian Open using protected ranking following a year and a half of inactivity on the WTA tour.

Patricia Maria Tig to lock horns with Ekaterina Makarova in Transylvania Open 2R

Patricia Maria Tig at the 2023 US Open

Following her win over Martha Matoula, Patricia Maria Tig will lock horns with Russian qualifier Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova claimed a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over seventh seed Kateryna Baindl to book her spot in the second round.

Tig currently holds a 8-12 win/loss record for the year. She matched her best-ever finish at a Grand Slam tournament this season, reaching the second round of the 2023 US Open.

The Romanian took on Canada's Rebecca Marino in the first round at Flushing Meadows. She claimed a hard-fought 7-6(6), 7-6(1) win over Marino to advance at the New York Major. Tig squared off against third seed Jessica Pegula in the second round, losing 3-6, 1-6 to the American.