Article by David Istrate – Published on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 09:49 / Updated on Wednesday, 13 May 2026 09:51
Coco Gauff (22 years old, 4 WTA) praised Sorana Cîrstea (36 years old, 27 WTA) before the duel in the semifinals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome. The two tennis players met twice in 2026, both games being won by the American.
Sorana Cîrstea is having an excellent tournament at the Foro Olimpico, managing to qualify in the penultimate act of the competition and ensuring her return to 21st place in the world ranking, thus equaling the best position of her career.
On the way to the semi-finals, the Romanian defeated the world leader Aryna Sabalenka, but also other strong players such as Linda Noskova or Jelena Ostapenko. Further, Cîrstea will duel with Coco Gauff, who won 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 against Mirra Andreeva (19 years old, 7 WTA).
Coco Gauff, about Sorana Cîrstea: “She is very strong, I expect another tough battle”
In 2026, Cîrstea and Gauff met twice more. In the round of 16 of the tournament in Miami, the 22-year-old player prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, and in the 3rd round in Madrid she won 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
“Sorana is a very strong player, it was difficult for me to beat her in Madrid, it was three sets, the match was tight, now I'm happy to be in the semi-finals. I will see what tactics I will adopt for the next match,” said Gauff, quoted by Eurosport.
“She's having a great last season. She's a great player and obviously it's her last season so she's playing with nothing to lose. I'll go out there and expect another tough battle. I'll be ready and hopefully I can qualify for the final,” the world number 4 added in an interview with Tennis Channel.
For her part, Sorana spoke very nicely about her next opponent.
“Coco is an incredible fighter, the mentality she has is amazing. This year I played with her twice, in Miami and Madrid. Both matches ended after three sets, in both matches I had my chances, but she ended up winning,” said Cîrstea, according to Eurosport.
“I feel I can win, but I need to be braver. That's what I did with Aryna. I put myself in that position and fought for my chances, I didn't wait for her to make a mistake. Tennis is a learning process. Even now, in the last part of my career, I feel that I have something to learn every day”, concluded the 36-year-old tennis player.
