Florenta Mihai

Florenta Mihai

No Romanian woman had reached a Grand Slam singles final before Florenta Mihai did it at Roland Garros in 1977. Unseeded and 21, she made it through to face Mima Jausovec, taking the first set 6-2 before losing 7-6, 1-6. Days later she was back for the mixed doubles final, falling to John McEnroe and Mary Carillo. The singles run remains the high point of a career built entirely on clay, where she also reached the Roland Garros semifinals in 1976.

Mihai's 0 major final sits alongside 5 career titles, won mostly on the European clay circuit through the late 1970s. Her ranking peaked at world No. 29 in February 1978. Off the Roland Garros stage she paired with Virginia Ruzici for doubles gold at three straight Summer Universiades, a partnership that made the two of them the first faces of Romanian tennis before Ruzici's own major breakthrough a year later. Mihai died in 2015, aged 60.