“The Queen of Cleveland!” Coming from qualifications, Sorana Cîrstea won the WTA tournament without losing the competition set
Sorana Cîrstea. Photo source: Marcin Cholewinski / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea, who came from qualifications, won the WTA 250 Tennis tournament on Saturday night in the Land Powered by Rocket, after defeating American Ann Li, score 6-2, 6-4.
“The Queen of Cleveland! Cîrstea defeats Li 6-2, 6-4 and wins the title in Ohio!”, Was the WTA message that accompanied images from the final played on Saturday.
And the commentator noted that the Romanian played remarkable in the last week, lifting the trophy without losing set in front of the rivals in the seven matches played on the hard, in Ohio.
The Queen of Cleveland! 😍@sorana_cirstea Defeats Li 6-2, 6-4 to take the Title in Ohio! #Tennisintheland pic.twitter.com/lyjakycoqb
– WTA (@wta) August 23, 2025
At 35, Cîrstea passed his third WTA title to the simple, after those obtained in Tashkent (2008) and Istanbul (2021), according to Agerpres. Romanca, in 112th place in the world, lost finals in Budapest (2007), Toronto (2013), Tashkent (2019) and Strasbourg (2021).
Sorana Cîrstea, victory in two sets
Sorana Cîrstea, who came from qualifications, imposed in the final after an hour and 24 minutes.
The Romanian managed five consecutive ghures in the first set, and in the second act he succeeded at the 1-1 break that made the difference. Cîrstea did not lose her service in the final, missing the three chances of break.
Li (25 years, 69 WTA) had won the only previous confrontation with Cârstea, in 2021, in quarters at Melbourne 500 Grampians Trophy, in quarters, 6-3, 6-1.
For this title, Cîrstea was awarded with a check of $ 36,300 and 268 WTA points, and they chose $ 21,484 and 163 points.
Jump in WTA ranking
Cîrstea will play in the first round at the US Open against the Argentine player Solana Sierra.
Thanks to Cleveland, Cîrstea made a spectacular leap in the world hierarchy, reaching 71, according to the WTA Live standings.
Sorana Cîrstea said on Saturday night after winning the Cleveland tournament, that it was a special week, stating that she had no expectations.
“It was a special week for me. I came here just to play a few matches, I had zero expectations. I felt the energy from the first match, I felt good here. I am glad to stay as much as possible in this city,” said Cîrstea, quoted by News.ro.
She thanked for support for the Romanians present at her matches, at which point they chanted: “Romania!”
