"I'm sticking to my decision": Sorana Cirstea confirms retirement plans despite career-best season

Sorana Cirstea confirmed her plan to retire towards the end of the season following her quarterfinal defeat at Roland Garros. The Romanian is in the middle of the best season of her career at 36 years old and 20 years after making her professional debut.

At the beginning of the season, Cirstea announced that this would be her final season on Tour, but few would have expected it to end up becoming the best season of her career. She reached her career-high ranking of World No. 18 a few months ago and is coming off a remarkable campaign at Roland Garros.

Back in February, she lifted the fourth trophy of her career in Transylvania after defeating Emma Raducanu in the final. She has also compiled an incredible 31-8 record this year – particularly significant considering she had only reached 30 wins in a single season twice before (2012 and 2013) – although on both occasions she did so while playing more than 20 tournaments, whereas this season she has played only 10.

In 66 previous Grand Slam main draw appearances – since her debut at the 2008 Australian Open – the Romanian had only reached the quarterfinals on two occasions (Roland Garros 2009 and the US Open 2023). However, Cirstea's plans remain unchanged, as she still intends to retire at the end of the season, setting the course for her farewell and dispelling doubts about her future after a 0-6, 3-6 quarterfinal defeat to Mirra Andreeva.

The veteran has been one of the best players of the year, returning to the top 20 of the WTA Rankings and the top 10 of the WTA Race – considering only the points earned during the 2026 season. Her campaign in Paris adds to several other strong results she has achieved throughout the year, reaching deep runs in multiple tournaments – including her recent semifinal appearance at the Rome Open.

The Romanian was pleased with the level she displayed at Roland Garros. "I think it was a great tournament and also a very good clay-court season," said the Romanian during her press conference. "I would say, with the same result as in Rome, quarterfinals here, and of course I'm very happy.

"Today, unfortunately, Mira was way too strong. Conditions were very different, it was very slow, and I felt she didn't give me any chance. Sometimes it happens. The opponent is better on the day than you, and you have to accept it."

Despite the strong result, Cirstea stated that there will be no changes regarding her retirement plans. "Yes, I'm sticking to my decision," assured the World No. 18. "Nothing changed in my mind. I'm just very grateful for how the year is going and the way I'm playing.

"Again, overall it was a very solid tournament, but today I felt the conditions were very, very slow. I wasn't able to hurt her with anything, and she really played very, very well. I think my level was a little bit low and her level was very, very high. This is where you get the difference."

It was one of the best Grand Slam campaigns of Cirstea's career, as she returned to the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the first time since 2009. She defeated opponents such as Eva Lys and Xinyu Wang along the way and did not drop a set until facing Andreeva on Tuesday, completing one of the finest runs of her 20-year career.

"I think the longevity of my career is one of the things I'm most proud of," added Cirstea. "I never expected I would play above 30, to be honest, and I never thought I would have such a long career. Also, the way I fought, the way I evolved as a player, but also as a person through these years and through tennis, because I feel like this sport has taught me so much."

The Romanian now prepares for a grass swing packed with tournaments. She will compete at the Queen's Club Championships as the eighth seed before moving on to appearances in Berlin and Bad Homburg, completing three tournaments before Wimbledon – which will be her final appearance at SW19 – where she has never advanced beyond the third round in 16 previous appearances.