Begu, whose favorite surface is clay, started the year at No.
234, never winning a main-draw match at WTA level.

Begu won the first $100,000 ITF event of her career in February in Cali, defeating world No.
82 Laura Pous Tió in the final in straight sets.

In April, she entered the Andalucia Tennis Experience as a qualifier and eventually made the qualifications without losing a set.
Then she defeated Alberta Brianti in the first round and followed that up with a two-sets win over Estrella Cabeza Candela to advance to the quarterfinals.
She made to the semifinals after she beat 34th-ranked Klára Zakopalová in straight sets.
In the semifinal, she stunned world No.
14 and former world No.
2 Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her first WTA final, eventually losing to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.

Begu neared her first ever WTA Tour title, reaching her second final of the year in Budapest on 10 July.
The Romanian played the semifinal more aggressively than the fifth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues who allowed the youngster to break her when it counted most.
Irina had previously dominated another Spaniard Estrella Cabeza Candela.
Her first round brought her a win over another Spanish player, Laura Pous Tió whom she defeated in straight sets, and a second straight similar win over Ajla Tomljanović of Croatia.
She eventually lost the last act against top-seeded Roberta Vinci.

In July she posted the lone upset of second-round at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo tournament in Italy, defeating second-seeded Roberta Vinci, after eliminating another local in the first round, Maria Elena Camerin.
Begu lost eventually to the fifth-seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals, who was also the winner of the competition.

In the same month, Begu won the BCR Open Romania Ladies title, by defeating the Spanish opponent Laura Pous Tió in the final.
Begu achieved her third consecutive win against Laura Pous Tió in 2011, after the two in Cali and Budapest.
It was her fifth final of the year and her second trophy.
The 50 WTA points allowed her to enter the top 50 best women players in the world, becoming also the highest ranked Romanian player.
Begu, whose favorite surface is clay, started the year at No. 234, never winning a main-draw match at WTA level.
Begu won the first $100,000 ITF event of her career in February in Cali, defeating world No. 82 Laura Pous Tió in the final in straight sets.
In April, she entered the Andalucia Tennis Experience as a qualifier and eventually made the qualifications without losing a set. Then she defeated Alberta Brianti in the first round and followed that up with a two-sets win over Estrella Cabeza Candela to advance to the quarterfinals. She made to the semifinals after she beat 34th-ranked Klára Zakopalová in straight sets. In the semifinal, she stunned world No. 14 and former world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her first WTA final, eventually losing to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.
Begu neared her first ever WTA Tour title, reaching her second final of the year in Budapest on 10 July. The Romanian played the semifinal more aggressively than the fifth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues who allowed the youngster to break her when it counted most. Irina had previously dominated another Spaniard Estrella Cabeza Candela. Her first round brought her a win over another Spanish player, Laura Pous Tió whom she defeated in straight sets, and a second straight similar win over Ajla Tomljanović of Croatia. She eventually lost the last act against top-seeded Roberta Vinci.
In July she posted the lone upset of second-round at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo tournament in Italy, defeating second-seeded Roberta Vinci, after eliminating another local in the first round, Maria Elena Camerin. Begu lost eventually to the fifth-seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals, who was also the winner of the competition.
In the same month, Begu won the BCR Open Romania Ladies title, by defeating the Spanish opponent Laura Pous Tió in the final. Begu achieved her third consecutive win against Laura Pous Tió in 2011, after the two in Cali and Budapest. It was her fifth final of the year and her second trophy. The 50 WTA points allowed her to enter the top 50 best women players in the world, becoming also the highest ranked Romanian player.
Irina-Camelia Begu