Article by David Istrate – Published Sunday, May 31, 2026, 5:37 p.m. / Updated Sunday, May 31, 2026, 5:49 p.m.
Sorana Cîrstea (36 years old, 18 WTA) has qualified for the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and is waiting to see with whom he will duel for a place in the semi-finals of the competition. Meanwhile, the Romanian participated in the press conference and spoke to journalists about her evolution over the years.
On Sunday, May 31, Sorana Cîrstea managed to defeat Xiyu Wang (25 years old, 148 WTA) 6-3, 7-6 (4) and he qualified for the quarterfinals of Roland Garros for the second time in his career.
After 17 years, Sorana Cîrstea is again in the “quarters” of Roland Garros: “Then I was just a child”
In 2009, 17 years ago, the tricolor shocked the tennis world and managed to reach the top 8 players of the Grand Slam tournament in Paris.
“I think back then I was just a kid who had just entered the circuit. I didn't really know what was going on. I was just playing and I was at the beginning of my career. Obviously, now I have many years behind me, I have so much experience, maturity. I feel like I'm a completely different player. At the same time, it is very beautiful. I am very grateful for everything that is happening. I am very happy to see how I have evolved as a player in all these years”, declared Cîrstea.
“Everyone who knows me realizes that nothing has changed in what I do on a daily basis. I still work the same. I bring the same discipline and work ethic to the game. I'm still hard on myself, just like in the past. I had an operation two years ago and after I came back, after Wimbledon 2025, I started playing really, really well and I'm happy that I've maintained the same level every week,” she added.
Sorana explained that it is the first time in her career that she manages to maintain a high level match after match. “I've said it many times, I've always been a very dangerous player. I could always be in the top 10 and have good results. But sometimes we had ups and downs. I didn't know exactly what to expect from myself, and now I think the base level has gone up“, explained the 36-year-old tennis player.
Asked what has changed in tennis in the last 20 years, Cîrstea spoke about the physical aspect, believing that more emphasis is placed on physical training and that this field has developed enormously. She also said that recovery methods have also improved and the game has become more complex, so tennis players need to develop more facets, not just attack or defense.
Sorana Cîrstea, in the last season of her career: “I didn't really think it would go so well”
In the final season of her career, the world number 18 said she did not expect to do so well.
“I think this year is going better than I expected. Like I said, I started my senior year wanting to get out the front door of the sport, I wanted to do well. But I didn't really think it would go so well. Now I'm really glad. I think in recent years I've realized how much I love this sport. I work hard, but I also have fun. I think you can see that,” Sorana said.
“Obviously, I'm competitive and I want to win every game. But at the same time, I don't put as much pressure and I'm not as hard on myself anymore. At this point, the decision hasn't changed. I haven't thought about it too much. I'm trying to take it week by week and not do anything different. I don't want to change things now or put any pressure. Obviously, we'll evaluate things. But for now, the decision remains the same,” she added.
Cîrstea believes that the older she got, the more she matured and her perspective and mentality changed. Before, she saw victories and defeats in terms of life and death, and failures affected her excessively. Nowadays, that doesn't happen anymore, the only question he asks himself is “I tried to give everything, did I give 100%?”.
“I think the biggest change in my career has been how every year I've been a little better mentally and found my peace. Some athletes have been able to have a great mindset very quickly and do great. Others are on a roller-coaster, I've had years where I've been really good and years where I haven't played so well, even though I was still in the Top 100, I was still a dangerous player, but maybe not at the expected level,” said Sorana.
“But I've made peace with everything that happened, with my past and I have no regrets about the last years of my career. I really gave 100% and it shows. I'm here because I worked hard and I belong here,” she concluded.
