Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published Saturday, April 18, 2026, 9:45 p.m. / Updated Saturday, April 18, 2026, 9:51 p.m.
Sorana Cîrstea is having the best start to the season in her career, but an injury prevented her from taking the court in Rouen and playing her second semifinal of the season, after the one at the Transylvania Open.
After the daily newspaper L'Equipe announced that the Romanian had declared forfeit, Sorana also offered some clarificationsi. “First of all, I'm extremely disappointed. Yesterday during the game I felt a twinge in my left calf. I thought it could happen and it would go away, but this morning it was still there.”transmitted the Romanian.
She continued: “I had an ultrasound and a CT scan and it showed there was a problem. My coaches and the medical team advised me not to play, to avoid aggravating the injury. I was disappointed by this news, because I was looking forward to playing the semi-final and I was hoping to win this tournament. But that's sports and sometimes the body doesn't keep up with the mind“.
Sorana Cîrstea, problems in 2025 with the calf
Sorana Cîrstea also had a calf problem last year, which she got at the tournament in Madrid, where she won the doubles alongside Anna Kalinskaya. The world number 26 then had to skip the Rome and Roland Garros tournaments, returning to the grass season at the Bad Homburg tournament. At that time, the Romanian did not specify which calf she had problems with.
Sorana Cîrstea no longer had a precedent for forfeiture, she had only eleven withdrawals from games in her twenty-year career.
The Romanian played eight tournaments this season, winning at the Transylvania Open, reaching the semifinals in Rouen and the quarterfinals in Linz. She has amassed 20 wins and seven losses, one by forfeit.
