Victor-Valentin Crivoi (born 25 May 1982) is a Romanian former professional tennis player and tennis coach. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 75 on 17 August 2009 and played his last professional matches in 2020. A clay-court specialist who spent most of his career on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ITF Circuit, he has since worked as a coach, most prominently with Irina Begu.
Playing career
Crivoi turned professional in 2003. In 2005 he won seven titles on the International Tennis Federation's Professional Circuit and was named the ITF's "Player Of The Year" for that season; he finished the year ranked No. 275 by the ATP, up from No. 480 at the year's start.
His most productive season came in 2009. At the 2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome — his only appearance in the main draw of an ATP Masters 1000 event — he came through qualifying and beat 14th seed James Blake 7–5, 6–3 in the first round before losing to Robin Söderling. He also qualified for the 2009 French Open, where he reached the second round before losing to Gaël Monfils, and matched that result at Wimbledon; those, together with the 2008 French Open and the 2009 US Open, were his four Grand Slam main draws.
Crivoi won one Challenger title, at Manerbio in 2008, and 25 titles at ITF Futures level. He represented Romania in six Davis Cup ties between 2006 and 2012, going 4–8 in singles rubbers.
Coaching career
Crivoi was part of the team around Horia Tecău: recalling the preparation for the 2016 Olympic doubles tournament, at which he won a silver medal with Florin Mergea, Tecău named Crivoi alongside Andrei Pavel and Gabriel Trifu among those who supported him throughout the campaign. He has since coached Irina Begu for several years, and was credited with guiding her return to competition in 2026 after an absence of almost ten months.
Personal life
On 8 August 2026, Crivoi married Begu in a civil ceremony attended by close family and friends.
Career Timelines
Singles
W F SFQF#RRRQ#P#DNQAZ#POGSBNMSNTIPNHCareer performance timeline, compiled from ITF/ATP activity records. Current through the 2020 season (final year on tour).
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | 2R | Q2 | Q3 | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | 2R | A | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| US Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% |
| National representation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | A | A | A | A | A | PO | A | PO | 1R | PO | 1R | Z1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 6 ties | 4–8 | 33% |
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Miami Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Monte-Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Madrid Open | NH | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Hamburg (former Masters) | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Cincinnati Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Shanghai Masters | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SR | W–L | Win % | |
| Tournaments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 29 | ||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | ||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | ||
| Hard win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 7 | 2–7 | 22% |
| Clay win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 5–7 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 20 | 9–20 | 31% |
| Grass win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Other win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 0 | 4–8 | 33% |
| Overall win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 7–17 | 3–5 | 1–6 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 29 | 16–37 | 30% |
| Win % | – | – | – | – | 0% | 33% | – | 50% | 29% | 38% | 14% | 33% | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Career total: 30% | ||
| Year-end ranking | 1066 | 698 | 480 | 275 | 194 | 279 | 135 | 123 | 176 | 240 | 272 | 231 | 316 | 574 | 1104 | 1680 | 1797 | Career high: No. 75 (17 August 2009) | |||||
Note: career-statistics rows count ATP Tour–level main-draw matches plus Davis Cup only (16–37). Outside the tour, Crivoi went 384–211 in ATP Challenger and ITF main draws, winning 1 Challenger title (Manerbio 2008) from 9 finals and 25 ITF Futures titles from 36 finals.
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 45 (26–19)
| Legend |
|---|
| ATP Challenger (1–8) |
| ITF Futures (25–11) |
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Hard (0–1) |
| Clay (26–18) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | May 2004 | Romania F2, Bacău | Futures | Clay | Rainer Eitzinger | 6–2, 4–6, 6–7(1–7) |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jul 2004 | Romania F12, Brașov | Futures | Clay | Artemon Apostu-Efremov | 4–6, 6–7(3–7) |
| Win | 1–2 | May 2005 | Romania F3, Bacău | Futures | Clay | Adrian Cruciat | 7–6(7–2), 6–7(3–7), 6–3 |
| Win | 2–2 | May 2005 | Romania F1, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Gabriel Moraru | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–2 | Jun 2005 | Romania F8, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Jorge Aguilar | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Jun 2005 | Romania F7, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Adrian Ungur | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 4–3 | Jun 2005 | Turkey F1, Ankara | Futures | Clay | Charly Villeneuve | 6–0, 4–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–3 | Jul 2005 | Romania F10, Focșani | Futures | Clay | Adrian Cruciat | 7–6(9–7), 1–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–3 | Aug 2005 | Romania F17, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Artemon Apostu-Efremov | 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 7–3 | Aug 2005 | Romania F16, Arad | Futures | Clay | Angelo Niculescu | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Loss | 7–4 | Oct 2005 | Czech Rep. F5, Opava | Futures | Hard | Jan Vacek | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 8–4 | Feb 2006 | Spain F6, Murcia | Futures | Clay | José Antonio Sánchez de Luna | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8–5 | Mar 2006 | Italy F5, Caltanissetta | Futures | Clay | Werner Eschauer | 3–6, 6–2, 2–6 |
| Loss | 8–6 | May 2006 | Zagreb, Croatia | Challenger | Clay | Daniel Elsner | 6–4, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 9–6 | Jul 2006 | Romania F11, Târgu Mureș | Futures | Clay | Martín Alund | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 9–7 | Sep 2006 | Brașov, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Marc López | 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(8–10) |
| Loss | 9–8 | Mar 2007 | Morocco F1, Oujda | Futures | Clay | Younes El Aynaoui | 0–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 9–9 | May 2007 | Rome, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Thierry Ascione | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 9–10 | Jul 2007 | Constanța, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Sebastián Decoud | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 10–10 | Mar 2008 | Egypt F2, Giza | Futures | Clay | Karim Maamoun | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 11–10 | Mar 2008 | Egypt F1, Cairo | Futures | Clay | Marek Semjan | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 12–10 | Aug 2008 | Manerbio, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Christophe Rochus | 7–6(12–10), 6–2 |
| Loss | 12–11 | Sep 2008 | Bucharest, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Santiago Ventura | 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 12–12 | Apr 2009 | Naples, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Pablo Cuevas | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 12–13 | Aug 2010 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Challenger | Clay | Andreas Seppi | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 12–14 | Jun 2011 | Košice, Slovakia | Challenger | Clay | Simon Greul | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 12–15 | Aug 2012 | Romania F7, Iași | Futures | Clay | Boris Pašanski | 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 13–15 | Sep 2012 | Romania F9, Brașov | Futures | Clay | Cristóbal Saavedra Corvalán | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 14–15 | Oct 2012 | Morocco F7, Casablanca | Futures | Clay | Lamine Ouahab | 6–0, 6–3 |
| Win | 15–15 | Oct 2012 | Morocco F6, Casablanca | Futures | Clay | Lamine Ouahab | 6–3, 1–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 16–15 | Jan 2013 | USA F1, Plantation, Florida | Futures | Clay | Pedro Sousa | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 17–15 | Mar 2013 | India F2, Madurai | Futures | Clay | N Vijay Sundar Prashanth | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 18–15 | Mar 2013 | India F1, Chennai | Futures | Clay | Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan | 7–6(7–3), 7–5 |
| Win | 19–15 | Jun 2013 | Romania F5, Sibiu | Futures | Clay | Theodoros Angelinos | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Loss | 19–16 | Aug 2013 | Romania F8, Iași | Futures | Clay | Kristijan Mesaroš | 2–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Win | 20–16 | Sep 2013 | Romania F10, Brașov | Futures | Clay | Filippo Leonardi | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 20–17 | Oct 2013 | Croatia F12, Dubrovnik | Futures | Clay | Damir Džumhur | 2–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 21–17 | Jan 2014 | USA F3, Weston, Florida | Futures | Clay | Kyle Edmund | 6–7(2–7), 7–5, 6–0 |
| Win | 22–17 | Mar 2014 | Iran F3, Kish | Futures | Clay | Toni Androić | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 22–18 | Mar 2014 | Iran F2, Kish | Futures | Clay | Peđa Krstin | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 23–18 | Mar 2014 | Iran F1, Kish | Futures | Clay | Toni Androić | 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5) |
| Win | 24–18 | Jun 2014 | Romania F5, Sibiu | Futures | Clay | Vasile Antonescu | 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 25–18 | Aug 2014 | Romania F10, Cluj-Napoca | Futures | Clay | Peter Torebko | 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 25–19 | May 2015 | Romania F3, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Dmitry Popko | 4–6, 6–7(1–7) |
| Win | 26–19 | Sep 2015 | Romania F15, Brașov | Futures | Clay | Teodor-Dacian Crăciun | 7–5, 6–1 |
Doubles: 13 (6–7)
| Legend |
|---|
| ATP Challenger (3–2) |
| ITF Futures (3–5) |
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Hard (0–0) |
| Clay (6–7) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | May 2004 | Romania F2, Bacău | Futures | Clay | Andrei Mlendea | Adrian Barbu Victor Ioniță |
6–7(4–7), 1–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Aug 2006 | Timișoara, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Victor Ioniță | Ervin Eleskovic Michael Ryderstedt |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Sep 2006 | Como, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Gabriel Moraru | Jamie Delgado Jamie Murray |
2–6, 6–4, [7–10] |
| Loss | 1–3 | Apr 2007 | Chiasso, Switzerland | Challenger | Clay | Teodor-Dacian Crăciun | Bart Beks Matwé Middelkoop |
6–7(2–7), 5–7 |
| Loss | 1–4 | May 2012 | Romania F2, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Marius Copil | Andrei Dăescu Florin Mergea |
6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
| Win | 2–4 | Jun 2012 | Romania F3, Bacău | Futures | Clay | Marius Copil | Harri Heliövaara Timo Nieminen |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–4 | Sep 2012 | Brașov, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Marius Copil | Andrei Ciumac Aleksandr Nedovyesov |
6–7(8–10), 6–4, [14–12] |
| Win | 4–4 | Oct 2012 | Morocco F6, Casablanca | Futures | Clay | Lamine Ouahab | Steven Moneke Marc Sieber |
6–1, 3–6, [10–6] |
| Loss | 4–5 | Mar 2013 | India F2, Madurai | Futures | Clay | Patrick Ciorcilă | Caio Silva Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan |
4–6, 6–2, [9–11] |
| Loss | 4–6 | Jun 2013 | Romania F5, Sibiu | Futures | Clay | Patrick Ciorcilă | Victor Vlad Cornea Tudor Cristian Sulea |
6–7(4–7), 6–1, [8–10] |
| Win | 5–6 | Sep 2015 | Sibiu, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Petru-Alexandru Luncanu | Ilija Bozoljac Dušan Lajović |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–6 | May 2016 | Romania F3, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Petru-Alexandru Luncanu | Victor-Mugurel Anagnastopol Victor Vlad Cornea |
6–4, 2–6, [10–6] |
| Loss | 6–7 | May 2018 | Romania F1, Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Victor Vlad Cornea | Vasile Antonescu Patrick Grigoriu |
1–6, 4–6 |
