Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published Saturday, April 11, 2026, 5:04 p.m. / Updated Saturday, April 11, 2026, 5:07 p.m.
Sorana Cîrstea (36 years old, 29 WTA) qualified on Saturday in the 12th doubles final in the WTA circuit. The Romanian and Shuai Zhang (37 years old, 64 WTA) passed the Ulrikke Eikeri/Quinn Gleason (Norway/USA) pair 7-5, 6-2 in the penultimate act in Linz, and their opponents will be the Czech Jesika Maleckova/Miriam Skoch.
“I have no words to describe all the love I received at this tournament,” Sorana Cîrstea wrote after losing in the singles quarterfinals to Mirra Andreeva.
The Romanian will continue to receive the affection of the Austrian public, as on Saturday she qualified for the doubles final of the WTA 500 tournament in Linz, where she is for the eleventh time.
Sorana Cîrstea and Shuai Zhang are the main favorites and they passed the Ulrikke Eikeri / Quinn Gleason (Norway/USA) pair in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-2.
Sorana Cîrstea, six trophies and five finals until Linz
For the trophy, they will fight with the double Jesika Maleckova / Miriam Skoch. For Sorana Cîrstea, it will be the 12th doubles final that she is competing in.
The Romanian won in Madrid (2025), Lugano (2019), Dallas (2011), Estoril (2010) and Fes (2008). Cîrstea also played in the finals in the Tianjin (2014), Budapest (2010), Barcelona (2009), Fes (2009) and New Haven (2008) tournaments.
Her partner has 17 doubles trophies, she won this year at the Australian Open, alongside Elise Mertens, this being her third Grand Slam trophy. Shuai Zhang also played 20 other finals.
Sorana Cîrstea had not reached the doubles final since Madrid 2025, a tournament she won alongside Anna Kalinskaya.
Until Linz, the Romanian played seven times in doubles, the most important performance being reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon 2025. Sorana announced that this season will be the last of her career.
