[Feb 6, 2023] Antalya, second day of the qualifying. I wake up in the morning, ready to start my match day with the specific routine. I read the news: earthquake in southeast Turkey, 7.8 degrees on the Richter scale. I continue my routine without giving much importance to this news. The matches were supposed to start at 10 o’clock, but the day before it had been raining all afternoon, so the matches had already been postponed by one hour.

I go to the gym for a second time to warm up, I’m mentally prepared for the match. I checked the schedule again. One more hour. 10 minutes before I leave, I call the head referee to make sure the matches are not delayed. I am told that the matches for today are canceled due to the earthquake. The event is starting to take off. I ask other players what information they have. Some heard that there is a tsunami alert in our area, and that another equally big earthquake is expected. Panic. Many questions. I try to go about my day in a normal way. I go for lunch with a Slovenian player, and then back to my room to open the laptop.

I feel like the room is spinning. Maybe I’m dizzy. The curtains are moving, is this another earthquake? I continue my day. I go to training, I go to the gym, waiting for the decision of the organizers which is late to appear. We are following the news. There had been indeed a second earthquake, the one I had felt.

Many victims. Catastrophe. Turkey is mourning. There are already rumors that the tournament week could be cancelled. The decision of the organizers comes at 20:00: the tournament has been cancelled.

What should I do? Would it be better to decide on the moment? Or should I wait until next morning?

What are my options? I could go back home the next day, or I could stay and wait for the next tournament? But is there any guarantee that next week’s tournament will be held? What other tour options are there? No tournaments on clay in Europe. A couple of tournaments in Argentina are scheduled two weeks from now, but I can’t afford to go there. So, I have decided to wait until the next day.

[Feb 7, 2023] I have to make up my mind today. But first I go to the club for some training and to hear what the organizers have to tell us. The other group of Romanian players is leaving tomorrow, except for the girls at my hotel who are waiting for the next tournament. We arrive at the club. The head umpire still has no decision from the ministry or the ITF and is not promising us anything. We’re talking to the tournament director. He is very optimistic and believes he will play next week. I go to practice, play a set and decide after this practice that my best option would be to go home. But what options do I have next? I can play a prize money tournament in Dubai next week, but I’m not signed up. I am sending an email with a request for a wild card. They answer that all the wild cards are already given. Did I take the best option to return home, or should I stay for the next tournament? If I go home, I can come back to the tournament in a few days anyway. The number of victims is increasing. In the evening it reaches approximately 7,000.

[Feb 8, 2023] I’m on my flight to Istanbul. I’m returning home.

Throughout my career I’ve been through a lot of adventures. I will tell you a couple.

When I was 16, I was playing a junior tournament in Israel. It was November. I was at that tournament with a colleague from Romania and her coach. The first tournament was over, we were on the second one. We were in the hotel when we heard small bangs, we thought they were fireworks. We look out the window, a woman running desperately with her child in her arms. We go down to the reception to find out what’s going on. A rocket had exploded 5 kilometers away from the hotel. The organizer says we will have to move to another hotel, in a safer area. The war had begun in Israel. From home, the parents decided to change our flight in order to return home safely, we withdraw from the tournament where we had to play a doubles final. It was crazy at the airport, but we manage to leave and get home.

In 2019, I was in Atlanta with my doubles partner, Gabi Talabă. I had just played the doubles final, and the next day I had a flight back home at 8 in the morning. Except that the weather forecast was bad. We were staying at a very nice family who took us to a hockey game to celebrate the final we played. We arrived home and I packed my luggage, Gabi was staying in America, only I had to fly the next day. An uneventful flight was announced, I had two connections to get to Europe. Except that during the night, we were woken up by a tornado alert. We were waiting with bated breath together with our hosts and watching to see where the tornado would pass, if it would be necessary to take shelter. Fortunately, this was not the case and the tornado dissipated before reaching our home. The next day I wake up ready for a long journey home. I arrive at the airport for the first flight leg to Atlanta. It’s delayed. From Atlanta I should fly to Miami, where I must arrive around 1pm to catch my connection to Rome at 7pm, but the first flight is delayed by about 5 hours. When I arrived in Atlanta, it was already late, I had missed the connection to Europe, and I would need to buy a new ticket. I decided to go to Miami first, and see options for another ticket, but I was still stuck in Atlanta. I booked a 10pm flight to Miami, but this one is also delayed until the next morning due to pilot fatigue. I spent the night in Atlanta. The next day, the flight resumed, and I finally arrived in Miami. I buy a new ticket, the cheapest one to London, and from there I take another flight to Bucharest. After 72 hours, I arrived home. How many hours did I manage to sleep? Very few…

These are two of the adventures I went through, I believe many players – and other people too, have something to tell from their travels. These experiences strengthen and develop you as a person. I went through them, mostly alone, but I managed to get through each time.