WASHINGTON, December 6, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
When you love something so much, such as tennis like Romania’s Sorana Cirstea does, it’s not easy to say “good bye.”
Yet, that’s what the 35-year-old Cirstea is doing. The 5-foot-9-inch native of Bucharest is leaving the sport she loves by her own volition. “For now, though,” she wrote on her Instagram Saturday, “this is not a farewell, but a ‘see you one more time.’
“I still have lots of things I want to improve. I have some goals and ambitions, so I hope to be able to achieve some of them next year and finish this wonderful career on a high note and on my terms.”
The 2026 season will be Cirstea’s 20th on the WTA Tour as a professional tennis player. While she never expected to compete for such a long time, after turning pro in 2006, Cirstea said the last couple of years “have been my happiest on court and they just kept me going.”
The queen of Cleveland! @sorana_cirstea defeats Li 6-2, 6-4 to take the title in Ohio! #TennisinTheLand pic.twitter.com/lYjAKYCoQb
— wta (@WTA) August 23, 2025
After finishing the 2024 season ranked 69th, a year in which she dealt with severe plantar fasciitis in her foot that required surgery, Cirstea improved 26 spots to No. 43 this year. She won one title, a WTA 250 outdoor hard court event at Cleveland, Ohio, over Ann Li of the United States in August. It was her third career singles title on the WTA Tour. The others came in 2008 at Tashkent, Uzbekistan and in 2021 at Istanbul, Turkey. Her career-best singles ranking is No. 21, which she achieved in August 2013. In doubles, Cirstea achieved a career-best ranking of No. 35 in 2009 and has won six titles.
Cirstea is living proof that patience is a virtue, a wise but simplistic maxim that pre-dates the sport of tennis by many centuries. When she beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 6-1, 7-6 (3), to win her second title at Istanbul four years ago, it broke a 13-year title drought. On a day when the conditions were less than ideal in the Turkish capital city, Cirstea outpointed her opponent 79-57 and played inspiring tennis from first ball to last ball, being aggressive in going after her shots, while hitting effectively from both her forehand and backhand sides.
Champion @sorana_cirstea
Şampiyon Sorana Cirstea #tennischampistanbul pic.twitter.com/16w6i9TbJz
— Tennis Championship Istanbul (@TennisChampIst) April 25, 2021
Afterward, during a virtual interview with a trio of international tennis writers, including this reporter, Cirstea said beating Mertens, a Top 20 player, gave her “a lot of confidence. … I’m very happy about this title because I think it’s one that I deserve.
“Everyone knows I’m aggressive, that I hit hard. I can hit forehands and backhands; there’s not much difference in my shots. This week, having the discipline to stay in the rally – not being afraid to stay in the rally – and picking the right shots to hit for winners was the biggest difference.”
When Cirstea was asked by Tennis TourTalk in 2021 if there was a lesson learned from her Istanbul title run – finding her joy in tennis, again, and learning the virtue of patience when she plays – she said: “I do believe that life gives you lessons every day. You just have to open your eyes and your mind and be able to learn from them.
“Tennis has always been my life, and once Covid came I realized there are other things that are important, too. Winning or losing a tennis match is not life or death. So, I have been seeing tennis from a different point of view. It’s working much better. I don’t get as stressed or excited anymore.”
Happiness of the day
Former world no. 21 @sorana_cirstea did not drop a set all week#tennischampistanbul pic.twitter.com/AO3ixfAnm6
— Tennis Championship Istanbul (@TennisChampIst) April 25, 2021
This year, Cirstea completed one of her best seasons on tour after going 30-20. She finished strong by reaching the semifinals at Osaka and quarterfinals at Hong Kong in her last two events. In her run to winning her most recent title in Cleveland, Cirstea went from qualifier to champion after winning seven straight matches without dropping a set. Additionally, she was a semifinalist at Isai, Romania and a quarterfinalist at Dubai and Austin, Texas.
Among the well-wishers commenting to Cirstea’s Instagram post, her current doubles partner Anna Kalinskaya of Russia with whom they won the 2025 WTA 1000 title at Madrid, wrote: “Let’s have the best time ❤️.” Other current and former players sharing best wishes include: Caroline Garcia of France, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, Lucie Safarova of Czechia, Angelique Kerber of Germany and Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.
Now, as Cirstea readies for the 2026 season, she will bring a 572-437 career win-loss record into her last year on tour. She has twice reached the quarterfinal round at a major – in 2009 at Roland-Garros as an unseeded 19-year-old, and in 2023 at the US Open at age 33 – and has collected more than $10.8 million in career earnings. Cirstea has finished ranked in the Top 100 in all but one year since 2008.
Sorana Cirstea announces that 2026 will be her last year on tour. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/To4tKERRiU
— LaWanda (@lawanda50) December 6, 2025
“I adore tennis and I am very fortunate and grateful for everything it has given me and taught me,” Cirstea wrote in her Instagram post. “This sport has allowed a four-year-old girl, holding the racket for the first time, [to] live her dream. A beautiful dream where all the sacrifices have been so worth it.”
Cirstea, whose idols growing up were Steffi Graf and Roger Federer, added: “I love the discipline, the routines, the hard work. The competition and the adrenaline fuel my soul. But like everything in life, it must come to an end. …
“I look forward to seeing all my fans, friends and loved ones next to the court for one last dance around the world.
“Thank you tennis, I will forever be indebted to you. See you in 2026 and thank you for your unconditional support! ❤️”
