.jpg) Cîrstea at the2025 Transylvania Open | |
| Country (sports) |  Romania |
|---|---|
| Residence | Târgoviște, Romania |
| Born | (1990-04-07)7 April 1990 (age 35) Bucharest, Romania |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | 2006 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Albert Costa (2024–) |
| Prize money | US $10,824,928 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 572-437 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 21 (12 August 2013) |
| Current ranking | No. 44 (3 November 2025) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4R (2017,2022) |
| French Open | QF (2009) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2009,2012,2017,2021,2023) |
| US Open | QF (2023) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 1R (2008,2012) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 160-131 |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 35 (9 March 2009) |
| Current ranking | No. 57 (3 November 2025) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2018) |
| French Open | 3R (2008,2018) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2025) |
| US Open | 3R (2009,2017) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 1R (2012) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | 15–12 |
| Last updated on: 3 November 2025. | |
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (Romanian pronunciation:[soˈranaˈkɨrste̯a]; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professionaltennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013.[1] In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March 2009. On theWTA Tour, she has won three singles and six doubles titles.
Cîrstea's greatest achievements are the final at the2013 Rogers Cup and the2025 Madrid Open doubles title withAnna Kalinskaya.
Sorana Cîrstea was born to Mihai and Liliana inBucharest.[2] She resides inTârgoviște, her parents' home town.[3] She has a younger brother, Mihnea.[2] Cîrstea was introduced to tennis at the age of four by her mother.[3] Sorana's father owns an ice cream factory in Târgoviște.[4] She has citedSteffi Graf andRoger Federer as her idols.[3]
Cîrstea is a formerITF Junior Circuit top-ten player, reaching a highest combined ranking of No. 6 in 2006. Her best results include a title in the 2005 German Junior Open (Grade 1), a tournament in which she was finalist the year before, defeating Erika Zanchetta in three sets in the final, and a runner-up place in the 2006 Trofeo Bonfiglio (Grade A), where she lost in the final to compatriotIoana Raluca Olaru after having defeated the top-ranked world junior playerAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals. She also made final appearances at the year-ending Grade-1 juniors tournaments, Eddie Herr International and Yucatán World Cup, in 2005 and 2006, and in the Opus Nottinghill International in 2006.[5]
She turned professional in 2006 and ended the year at No. 353 in theWTA rankings.[citation needed]
In April 2007, she reached the final of theBudapest Grand Prix, a Tier-III event, as a qualifier. All of her main draw matches went to three sets. She beatMartina Müller in the second round,Eleni Daniilidou in the quarterfinals andKarin Knapp in the semifinals before losing toGisela Dulko in the final. She was the first Romanian to reach a WTA Tour final sinceRuxandra Dragomir in June 2000. During her run, she beat two players ranked inside the top 40. The following month, Cîrstea played in the junior tournament of the2007 French Open where she reached the doubles final withAlexa Glatch, losing to the third seedsKsenia Milevskaya andUrszula Radwańska.[citation needed]
She competed for Romania in the women's singles at the2008 Summer Olympics, losing in the first round toShahar Pe'er.[6] In October 2008, Cîrstea won her first WTA title inTashkent by defeating fourth seed and world No. 64,Sabine Lisicki, in three sets.[7] She also won her first two WTA titles in doubles that year. At the end of 2008, she was No. 36 in the WTA singles rankings and the No. 1 Romanian, aged only 18 years.[citation needed]
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Cîrstea began new season by losing toDinara Safina at theSydney International, in straight sets. In the doubles tournament, she partneredVera Dushevina and reached the second round, defeating Kuznetsova/Petrova before losing to Black/Huber. At theAustralian Open, she lost in the first singles round toMelinda Czink, but reached the second round of the doubles withMonica Niculescu, defeating Ditty/Gullickson and losing to Dechy/Santangelo.[8]
Cîrstea lost in the first rounds of theOpen GdF Suez andDubai Championships, toNathalie Dechy andDominika Cibulková respectively. In doubles, she again partnered Monica Niculescu in Suez, reaching the semifinals before injury forced them to lose in a walkover to Peschke/Raymond. In Dubai, she partneredArina Rodionova and they lost in the first round to Kirilenko/Radwańska. Cîrstea received a bye in the first round atIndian Wells, but lost in the second toElena Vesnina. In the doubles tournament, she partneredGalina Voskoboeva and lost in the first round to Mattek-Sands/Washington. Cîrstea finished her hardcourt season with a loss in the first round of theMiami Open to the qualifierMariya Koryttseva. Her doubles effort in Miami withCaroline Wozniacki also ended in the first round, with a loss to Kuznetsova/Mauresmo.
Her clay-court season began at the inauguralAndalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella. She reached the semifinals, defeatingIoana Olaru, Andreja Klepač andKaia Kanepi before losing toCarla Suárez Navarro. In the doubles, she partnered Ioana Olaru and they reached the quarterfinals, before losing to Hercog/Ulirova. At theBarcelona Ladies Open, Cîrstea lost in the first round of the singles tournament toAnastasiya Yakimova, but reached the finals of the doubles tournament withAndreja Klepač. They defeated Grönefeld/Senoglu, Ani/Voráčová, and Hlaváčková/Hradecká, before falling to Vives/Sanchez in the final. A week later, atFes, Cîrstea again lost in the first round of the singles tournament, toLourdes Domínguez Lino, and again reached the finals of the doubles tournament, withMaria Kirilenko. Cîrstea/Kirilenko defeated Fernandez-Brugues/Thorpe, Czink/Keothavong, and Hercog/Olaru, before losing to Kleybanova/Makarova in three sets.
At theEstoril Open, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals of the singles tournament, defeatingKimiko Date-Krumm andMaret Ani, before falling to the eventual championYanina Wickmayer.[citation needed] In the doubles, she again partnered Kirilenko, defeating Ivanova/Yakimova, before losing to Coin/Pelletier in the quarterfinals. AtMadrid, she lost in the first rounds of both the singles and the doubles tournaments, falling toAlona Bondarenko in two sets in the singles, and partneringVladimíra Uhlířová in the doubles to lose to Makarova/Kudrayvtseva in the super-tiebreaker.
Cîrstea then had her breakthrough tournament at theFrench Open. She began with wins overCarly Gullickson and an upset of the 21st seedAlizé Cornet to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. She then defeated her doubles partner Wozniacki, the tenth seed. Cîrstea continued her unlikely run with a three set upset over the fifth-seededJelena Janković to reach her first major quarterfinal, where she faced the 30th seedSam Stosur, losing in straight sets.[9] Her doubles effort with Wozniacki ended in the first round with a loss to Pennetta/Kirilenko.
At theRosmalen Open in the Netherlands, she defeated Niculescu in three sets but lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer. She paired withDinara Safina for the doubles tournament, defeating Grönefeld/Niculescu in the first round and losing to Errani/Pennetta in the second round. AtWimbledon, Cîrstea was seeded 28th. She defeatedEdina Gallovits andSania Mirza in the first two rounds, but lost to the eighth seedVictoria Azarenka in the third round. In the doubles, she once again partnered Wozniacki, but lost in the second round to Koryttseva/Poutchek. At theSwedish Open in Båstad, Cîrstea defeated the qualifierJohanna Larsson before losing toGisela Dulko in the second round. She and Wozniacki lost in the second round to Kondratieva/Lefevre. Two weeks later, Cîrstea lost in the first round of theStanford Classic toAgnieszka Radwańska. Partnering Maria Kirilenko, she reached the semifinals of the doubles, defeating Granville/Gullickson and Coin/Pelletier, before losing to Chan/Niculescu.
Cîrstea had another improbable run at theLA Championships in August. She upset Wozniacki and Radwańska, despite Radwańska serving for the match in the third set, but lost to Stosur in the semifinals. Cîrstea/Wozniacki lost in the first round of the doubles to Chang/Yan. At theCincinnati Masters, she defeatedMeghann Shaughnessy andAnna-Lena Grönefeld before losing to the fourth seedElena Dementieva, but achieved a career high ranking of No. 23. At theUS Open, Cîrstea was seeded 24th. She defeatedAyumi Morita andStéphanie Dubois before losing in the third round to the eventual finalist Wozniacki, the No. 9 seed and her doubles partner. Cîrstea/Wozniacki defeated Bammer/Schruff and Azarenka/Zvonareva before losing in the third round to the eventual champions, Williams/Williams. After the US Open, Cîrstea lost her next five matches, in theKorea Open,Pan Pacific Open,China Open,Linz Open andKremlin Cup.
She finished 2009 ranked No. 43 in the world, with a 21–24 match record.[8]
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In the2010 Hopman Cup in early January, Cîrstea played withVictor Hănescu. Romania were seeded sixth and finished last in their group, winning against the Australian team of Sam Stosur andLleyton Hewitt, but losing to the SpainsMaría José Martínez Sánchez andTommy Robredo, the eventual champions, and the American team ofMelanie Oudin andJohn Isner. Cîrstea posted a three-set win over Stosur and, with Hanescu, a two set win over Stosur and Hewitt. She lost in straight sets to Martínez Sánchez and Oudin.[8]
She easily lost in the first round of theHobart tournament toPeng Shuai. At theAustralian Open, she defeatedOlivia Rogowska, and lost in the second round toAlisa Kleybanova. She partneredAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the doubles tournament, losing to Kirilenko/Radwańska in the first round.
Her next tournament was theOpen GdF Suez in Paris, where she fell to Oudin. She lost in straight sets in the first rounds of theDubai,Acapulco, andMonterrey tournaments, toFrancesca Schiavone,Sharon Fichman, andSara Errani, respectively. AtIndian Wells she reached the second round, first defeating Kaia Kanepi, before losing toZheng Jie. Two weeks later at theMiami Open, Cîrstea defeatedMichelle Larcher de Brito before losing in the second round to the third seedVenus Williams.
In the clay-court season, Cîrstea prevailed over the sixth seed Maria Kirilenko in the first round of theAndalucia Tennis Experience. She then lost in the second round to her fellow RomanianSimona Halep. At theBarcelona Open, she defeatedTamira Paszek, but lost in the second round toIveta Benešová, in straight sets. Cîrstea was seeded second at theEstoril Open and defeated her compatriot Ioana Olaru in the first round and Larcher de Brito in the second. In the quarterfinals, she beatArantxa Rus but fell toArantxa Parra Santonja in the semifinals. In the doubles, she partneredAnabel Medina Garrigues to win the tournament, beating Peng/Zhang, Manasieva/Olaru and Diatchenko/Vedy. Cîrstea lost to Flavia Pennetta in three sets in the first round of theMadrid Open. Two weeks later, she qualified for theStrasbourg tournament, losing toElena Baltacha in the first round.
At theFrench Open, she lost in the first round to the defending championSvetlana Kuznetsova. AtEastbourne, she defeated Francesca Schiavone, losing in the second round to Kuznetsova in three sets. AtWimbledon, she was defeated byPetra Kvitová in the first round. At theBudapest Grand Prix, she lost in the first round to the qualifierZuzana Ondrášková. She lost in the quarterfinals at theİstanbul Cup to Pavlyuchenkova and theDanish Open toKlára Zakopalová. AtCincinnati, she lost in the first round toSybille Bammer.[8] At theUS Open, Cîrstea lost toSofia Arvidsson in the first round.
She ended the year as world No. 93 in the WTA rankings.
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At theAustralian Open, Cîrstea defeatedMirjana Lučić before she was beaten byShahar Pe'er in the second round.[10] In the doubles tournament, she played withLucie Šafářová and defeated the team ofSarah Borwell andMarie-Ève Pelletier, in three sets. In the second round they lost toCara Black andAnastasia Rodionova.[11]
In theU.S. National Indoors, Cîrstea defeatedCatherine Harrison in the first round, before she lost to Shahar Pe'er in the second. In doubles, she and her partnerAnastasia Pivovarova lost in the first round toAndrea Hlaváčková/Lucie Hradecká. At the Mexican Open, Cîrstea defeatedPatricia Mayr-Achleitner before she lost toLaura Pous Tió. Sorana played doubles again now withAndreja Klepač as a partner. They won the first round by defeatedEleni Daniilidou/Jasmin Wöhr. They lost in the second round toIrina-Camelia Begu/Alexandra Panova.[12] Cîrstea qualified in singles for theIndian Wells Open. In the first round she lost toAlla Kudryavtseva.[13] In the Sony Ericsson Open, Sorana received a wildcard in singles, but lost in the first round to Zheng Jie.
At the Andalucia Tennis Experience, she lost in the first round to Sara Errani, in three sets. She paired withMaria Elena Camerin for the doubles tournament defeatingAlberta Brianti/Aurélie Védy. They lost in the second round to Errani/Vinci.[14] In the following months, Sorana didn't have good results until she wonOpen de Cagnes-sur-Mer, a $100k tournament with a lot of top-100 players. She beatPatty Schnyder in the first round and compatriotAlexandra Dulgheru in the second of theFrench Open before losing toLi Na, in straight sets.
She then made it into the main draw of theWimbledon Championships, where she lost in straight sets toPauline Parmentier. Sorana played doubles again withAyumi Morita of Japan defeatingChuang Chia-jung/Hsieh Su-wei. They won their second round againstSophie Lefèvre/Evgeniya Rodina. They lost in third round to Sabine Lisicki/Sam Stosur.
In Båstad at the Swedish Open, Cîrstea defeated Mirjana Lučić in the first round. She lost in the second round toVesna Dolonc. At the Internationali di Palermo, Sorana won her first round match against Andrea Hlaváčková. She lost then toTsvetana Pironkova. At the ITF Bucharest, Cîrstea beat her compatriotsDiana Enache andMădălina Gojnea, before losing in the third round toLaura Pous Tió. She then played at theCarlsbad Open in California where she was beaten byCoCo Vandeweghe in a close match in the first round. Next tournament in Cincinnati, she qualified in singles for the main draw. In the first round she defeatedKsenia Pervak, but lost in the second toJill Craybas in the third set tiebreaker.
In Dallas, the inaugural tournament ofTexas Tennis Open, Cîrstea beat Jarmila Gajdošová in the first round, in the second she lost toAravane Rezaï. She played doubles for the first time withAlberta Brianti of Italy. In the first round they defeatedKateryna&Alona Bondarenko and in the secondAndreja Klepač/Tatiana Poutchek. In the semifinal match, they beat Sofia Arvidsson/Casey Dellacqua in straight sets. They won their final match and the title by defeating Alizé Cornet/Pauline Parmentier. Cîrstea won her fourth career doubles title, while Brianti won her second.[15] At the US Open, Cîrstea lost in the first round to Yanina Wickmayer. She paired withAyumi Morita of Japan in doubles. They defeated Casey Dellacqua andRennae Stubbs in the first round, but lost in the second toMaría José Martínez Sánchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues.
In Uzkebistan, she defeatedBojana Jovanovski andAleksandra Krunić, but lost in the third round to Alla Kudryavtseva. Cîrstea played doubles too with Pauline Parmentier, but they lost in the first round toIryna Brémond/Mandy Minella. Cîrstea won the title in the Open de Bretagne in Saint-Malo, France. She defeatedEstrella Cabeza Candela,Eva Fernández Brugués, Laura Pous Tió andStefanie Vögele, before beating Silvia Soler Espinosa in straight sets.[16] In theGenerali Ladies Linz, Cîrstea played in the qualifying draw with great victories. She beatNikola Hofmanova and Silvia Soler Espinosa before she defeated Anastasia Rodionova 6–1, 6–2. In the first main-draw rounds, she beatTamira Paszek and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the fourth seed of the tournament, before she lost in third round toLucie Šafářová. In France, Cîrstea won a $50k tournament featuring top 100 players where she defeatedPaula Ormaechea, Stefanie Vögele,Michaëlla Krajicek,Akgul Amanmuradova, and Sofia Arvidsson.[8]
At the end of the year, she was in 60th place in the WTA rankings.
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Cîrstea began 2012 ranked 60 in the world.[citation needed] Her first tournament atAuckland, she lost in the first round to Flavia Pennetta. In doubles, she partnered withDarija Jurak of Croatia; they lost their first-round match toKristina Barrois/Anna-Lena Grönefeld.[17] At Hobart, Cîrstea defeatedKsenia Pervak in the first andBethanie Mattek-Sands in the second. In third round, Cîrstea lost toAngelique Kerber despite having two match points. In doubles, she paired again withDarija Jurak. They beatKristina Barrois/Jasmin Wöhr in straight sets. Cîrstea/Jurak lost in second round to Irina-Camelia Begu/Monica Niculescu.[18] At the Australian Open, Cîrstea eliminated sixth seed Sam Stosur. In the second round, she beat Urszula Radwańska before she lost to Sara Errani in a match tainted by an early back injury. In doubles, Sorana played with Lucie Šafářová again, but they lost to ninth seedsNatalie Grandin/Vladimíra Uhlířová.[19]
At thePattaya Open, Cîrstea was seeded seventh. She defeatedErika Sema in the first round and thenMisaki Doi in the second by the same scoreline. In the quarterfinals, she defeated top seeded and world No. 8, Vera Zvonareva, who was forced to retire with a hip injury in the third set. She lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko. In Doha, Cîrstea beatJarmila Gajdošová in the first round. In the second round, she lost to third seed Samantha Stosur. Sorana paired withAnne Keothavong in doubles, but they lost in the first round to Anabel Medina Garrigues and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At the Abierto de Monterrey, Cîrstea was the third seed in the tournament and received a wildcard in singles. In the first round, she beat Stefanie Vögele in three sets. Sorana lost in the second round to eventual championTímea Babos.[20] Cîrstea was the 48th seed at the Indian Wells Open. She defeated Iveta Benešová in the first round, losing in the second to Agnieszka Radwańska. In Miami, she lost her first-round match to wildcardHeather Watson in three sets.
At theBarcelona Ladies Open, her first tournament on clay, Sorana was the 47th seed. In the first round, she beatPolona Hercog after she retired due to dizziness. Sorana defeatedLourdes Domínguez Lino in the second round. In quarterfinals, Cîrstea beatOlga Govortsova. She lost in her first semifinal of the tournament to Dominika Cibulková. In Stuttgart at thePorsche Tennis Grand Prix, Cîrstea lost in the first round to Anna Chakvetadze. At thePortugal Open, she lost in the first round to Silvia Soler Espinosa. At theMadrid Open, Sorana upset seventh seedMarion Bartoli in the first round before she lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues. At theInternazionali BNL d'Italia, Cîrstea defeated Jelena Janković in the first round and Sofia Arvidsson in the second before losing in three sets to Petra Kvitová. At Roland Garros, Sorana lost in the first round to Li Na. In doubles, she partnered withAyumi Morita and they lost in first round to Pennetta/Schiavone due to Morita's retirement.
Cîrstea began her grass-court season at the Birmingham Classic. As the No. 10 seed, she lost in the first round to qualifier Melanie Oudin. In doubles, Sorana partnered withAnne Keothavong and they lost in first round toZhang Shuai/Zheng Jie. In Eastbourne at the Aegon International, Sorana lost in the first round to defending champion No. 4 seed, Marion Bartoli. AtWimbledon, Cîrstea defeated Pauline Parmentier in the first round. Sorana beat the 11th seed Li Na in the second round but lost to Maria Kirilenko. In doubles, Sorana andAyumi Morita lost in the first round to Casey Dellacqua/Sam Stosur. She competed in the women's singles and the women's doubles (with Simona Halep) at the2012 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated in round one in both events.[6]
At theBank of the West Classic in San Jose, Sorana as the ninth seed beat Vania King and lucky loserZheng Saisai.[21] In the third round, she defeated third seed Dominika Cibulková, in three sets,[22] but lost in the semifinals to Serena Williams.[23] At theUS Open, Cîrstea defeated 16th seed Sabine Lisicki, and in the second round, she lost toAnna Tatishvili in three sets. InGuangzhou, Cîrstea advanced to the semifinals before losing toLaura Robson.
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Sorana began the year at the2013 ASB Classic where she lost her opener toHeather Watson. The following week, she defeatedNina Bratchikova before losing toLauren Davis in the second round atHobart. Cîrstea reached the third round of theAustralian Open losing to Li Na. She then followed it up with a semifinal showing at thePattaya Open losing to eventual champion Maria Kirilenko. She then reached the third round atIndian Wells where she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska. At theSony Open in Miami, Cîrstea made the 4th round after defeating Angelique Kerber in straight sets. She fell to Jelena Janković in the next round. At theFrench Open, she reached the third round losing to world No. 1 and eventual champion, Serena Williams. She then reached the quarterfinal of theAegon Classic falling toDonna Vekić. Cîrstea lost toCamila Giorgi in the second round atWimbledon.
She began theUS Open Series with a semifinal at theBank of the West Classic losing to Dominika Cibulková and a quarterfinal at theWashington Open losing to Alizé Cornet. In theRogers Cup en route to reaching her first final in five years, Cîrstea beat two former number-one players, Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Janković, and former Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitová and Li Na. She lost to top-seeded Serena Williams in the final in two sets. She then withdrew from theWestern & Southern Open citing a back injury, and later retired from her first round match at theNew Haven Open while trailing against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She had reached now the 21st place in the WTA rankings.
At theUS Open, she defeated qualifierSharon Fichman before then being upset by qualifier Kurumi Nara in the second round. Her next tournament was theGuangzhou International Open where she suffered another early-round loss, this time to Bojana Jovanovski. She advanced to the second round of thePan Pacific Open after beating Julia Görges. She then defeatedMisaki Doi before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round. She then lost her opening matches atBeijing andLinz to Bojana Jovanovski and Patricia Mayr-Achleitner.
By the end of the year, she had lost her No. 1 Romanian position to rising star Simona Halep.
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Cîrstea began her 2014 season at theAuckland Classic. Seeded fourth, she lost in the first round to qualifierSharon Fichman.[24] InSydney, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier and eventual champion,Tsvetana Pironkova.[25] Seeded 21st at theAustralian Open, she fell in the first round toMarina Erakovic.[26]
Seeded third at thePattaya Open, Cîrstea got her first win of the season by beatingAnna Karolína Schmiedlová in the first round.[27] She ended up losing in the quarterfinals to eventual finalistKarolína Plíšková, despite having match points in the second set.[28] At theQatar Open, she was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by second seed Agnieszka Radwańska.[29] The following week at theDubai Championships, she defeated fourth seed,Sara Errani, in the second round.[30] She was beaten in the quarterfinals by eighth seed and 2011 champion,Caroline Wozniacki.[31] Seeded 25th at theIndian Wells Masters, she lost in the second round to qualifierCamila Giorgi.[32] Seeded 25th inMiami, she was defeated in the second round by Pironkova.[33]
Cîrstea began her clay-court season at theFamily Circle Cup in Charleston. Seeded eighth, she was ousted from the tournament in the second round byTeliana Pereira.[34] At thePorsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, she lost in the first round to German wildcard and 2011 champion,Julia Görges.[35] Despite the poor form in WTA tournaments, in April, Cîrstea made a big contribution in2014 Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs, helping Romania promote to World Group II after defeating Serbia 4–1, with Cîrstea winning both her ties againstAna Ivanovic and Bojana Jovanovski.
At theStuttgart Open, she lost in the first round to German wildcardJulia Görges. She took fifth seed Petra Kvitová to three sets in their opener at theMadrid Open. Then, Cîrstea succumbed to American qualifier Christina McHale in the first round at theInternazionali d'Italia. Cîrstea managed to end her losing streak at theFrench Open where she was the 26th seed. In the first round, she beat qualifierAleksandra Wozniak and thenTeliana Pereira. Cîrstea lost in the third round to sixth seed Jelena Janković.
AtWimbledon, Cîrstea was the 29th seed. In the first round, she lost to young American qualifierVictoria Duval. Cîrstea was the top seed atBaku Cup and defeated Tunisian wildcardOns Jabeur in the first round but then lost to eventual semifinalist Stefanie Vögele in straight sets. Cîrstea was the eighth seed at theWashington Open. She defeatedKiki Bertens in the first round but then lost to Bojana Jovanovski. At theRogers Cup, Cîrstea fell to 15th seed Lucie Šafářová in the first round failing to defend her finalist points from the year before. At theWestern & Southern Open, Cîrstea lost in the first round to ninth seed and eventual finalist Ivanovic. After Cincinnati, Cîrstea got a wildcard for qualifying at theConnecticut Open. In the first round of qualifying, Cîrstea beat Alison Van Uytvanck. In the second round of qualifying, she lost to seventh seed Kaia Kanepi, in three sets.
At theUS Open, Cîrstea easily beatHeather Watson in the first round. In the second round, Cîrstea lost to seventh seedEugenie Bouchard. At theGuangzhou International Open, she lost in the first round to qualifierPetra Martić. At theWuhan Open, Cîrstea lost in the first round of qualifying to top seedZarina Diyas. Cîrstea's final tournament of the year was theChina Open where she fell in the first round of qualifying to ninth seedAjla Tomljanović.
At the end of the year, Cîrstea claimed that she had persistent small injuries particularly afflicting her shoulder.
Cîrstea ended 2014 ranked 93 in her seventh straight top-100 season.
Cîrstea was scheduled to start her season off at theShenzhen Open, but she withdrew due to a shoulder injury. Her first tournament of the year was at theAustralian Open. She lost in the first round to qualifierAlexandra Panova.[36] As a result, Cîrstea fell out of the top 100 for the first time since 2008.[citation needed]
In February, Cîrstea competed at theDow Corning Tennis Classic, a $100k event located inMidland, Michigan. As the second seed, Cîrstea was defeated in the first round by AmericanJessica Pegula.[37] During March, Cîrstea played at theMiami Open. Getting a wildcard for the main draw, Christina McHale beat her in the first round.[38] Cîrstea stayed in Florida to play at theUSTA Pro Circuit Event in Osprey where she lost in the first round toDanka Kovinić, in straight sets.[citation needed]
Cîrstea competed next at theCopa Colsanitas. Her woes continued as she suffered another first round loss, this time at the hands of eighth seed Irina Falconi. However, partnering withYaroslava Shvedova in doubles, she won her first match of the year by beatingMandy Minella/Olga Savchuk in the first round.[39] Then, they lost to the eventual championsPaula Cristina Gonçalves/Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the quarterfinals. In May, Cîrstea traveled to France to compete at theOpen Saint-Gaudens, an $60k event where she lost in the first round in three sets toWang Yafan. With theFrench Open starting on Sunday, May 24th, Cîrstea traveled to Paris to play qualifying in order to qualify for the main draw. She won both of her qualifying matches to get to the final round of qualifying. Unfortunately, she suffered a straight set loss in the final round of qualifying toVerónica Cepede Royg.[40] Due to not qualifying for the French Open, Cîrstea broke her streak of main draw appearances dating back to the 2008 Australian Open.[citation needed]
Since she had no success at the French Open, Cîrstea went to Italy to play at theInternazionali di Brescia, a $50k event. Even though she was the fourth seed, she was defeated in the first round by Italian qualifierClaudia Giovine. After the tournament in Brescia, Cîrstea stayed in Italy to compete at the $25k event in Padua. She easily won her first-round match overGiorgia Marchetti.[41] She then lost in the second round to qualifier Petra Uberalová. Next, Cîrstea went back to France to play theOpen Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Hérault, a $50k+H event in Montpellier. Here, Cîrstea lost in the first round to fourth seedRichèl Hogenkamp.[citation needed]
Trying to qualify for the main draw, Cîrstea played qualifying for theWimbledon Championships. She won her first round overNaomi Osaka. She then lost in the next round to fourth seedSachia Vickery.[42]
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Due to no success at Wimbledon, Cîrstea competed at theLorraine Open 88, a $100k event in Contrexéville, France. She reached the quarterfinals at this event beating fourth seed and compatriotAndreea Mitu andDonna Vekić. She was defeated in the quarterfinals by eighth seed and eventual finalistYulia Putintseva. Next, she traveled to her country to play at theBucharest Open; she also was given a wildcard into the main draw. Cîrstea started the tournament with a straight set victory overSesil Karatantcheva.[43] In the second round, she lost to compatriot Andreea Mitu in three sets.[44] At thePoznański Open, a $75k event in Sobota, Poland, Cîrstea suffered a straight set loss in the second round to third seed Richèl Hogenkamp. The week of 10 August saw Cîrstea compete at the first edition of thePrague Open, a $75k event. She beat CzechTereza Martincová in the first round. In the second round, she lost a tough three set match to wildcardPetra Cetkovská. Cîrstea failed to qualify for theUS Open; she lost in the final round of qualifying toMayo Hibi.[45]
Cîrstea fell in the first round of qualifying at theJapan Open to third seedMaría Teresa Torró Flor. Her final tournament of the year was at theAnkara Cup, a $50k event in Turkey. She lost in the first round to fifth seedİpek Soylu.[46]
Cîrstea ended the year ranked 244.[citation needed]
Cîrstea began the year as world No. 244. In January, she played at $25k tournaments in Guaruja and Bertioga, both Brazil. In Guaruja, she beatOleksandra Korashvili,Rebecca Šramková,Jil Teichmann, and third seedBeatriz Haddad Maia before losing toMontserrat Gonzalez in three sets in the final.[47] At Bertioga, she beatSandra Zaniewska,Victoria Bosio, Jil Teichmann and Rebecca Šramková before beatingCatalina Pella in the final.[48] It was the first tournament win after a period of almost four years.[citation needed]
In February, Cîrstea returned to the WTA Tour by playing at theRio Open. As a wildcard, she reached the semifinals with straight victories against Brazilian wildcard Beatriz Haddad Maia, fifth seed Polona Hercog, and third seedDanka Kovinić. Cîrstea lost in the semifinals toShelby Rogers.[49] Her performance moved her ranking from 199 to 153. Also in February, she played at a $25k tournament in São Paulo. She defeatedYvonne Cavallé Reimers,Martina Caregaro, andJil Teichmann en route to the semifinals where she lost to Sara Sorribes Tormo.[citation needed]
In March, Cîrstea traveled to Miami to compete at theMiami Open. Receiving a wildcard for qualifying, she lost in the final round to 17th seed Francesca Schiavone. Also in March, Sorana played at theEngie Open, a $50k event inCroissy-Beaubourg, France. She defeatedElitsa Kostova, Josephine Boualem, and Andreea Mitu en route to the semifinals, where she lost to second seedPauline Parmentier.[50]
Cîrstea kicked off her clay-court season at theİstanbul Cup. Seeded fifth for qualifying, she made it to the main draw beating Turkish wildcardsPemra Özgen andBaşak Eraydın. In the main draw, she upset third seed and defending championLesia Tsurenko in the first round.[51] In the second round, she lost to eventual championÇağla Büyükakçay.[52] Cîrstea successfully qualified for thePrague Open defeating Karolína Beránková,Anastasiya Komardina, andAmandine Hesse. She lost in the first round in three sets to the fourth seed and eventual finalist Sam Stosur.[53]
Receiving a wildcard for theMadrid Open, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals beating Jelena Jankovic, Danka Kovinić andLaura Siegemund en route. In the quarterfinals, she faced Dominika Cibulková and lost in three sets.[54] Cîrstea qualified for theFrench Open defeatingZhang Yuxuan, Jana Čepelová, and Elise Mertens. She lost in the first round to 18th seedElina Svitolina.[55]
Cîrstea started her grass-court season at the first edition of theMallorca Open. Seeded second for qualifying, she won all of her matches to advance to the main draw beatingValentyna Ivakhnenko, Sesil Karatantcheva, andMandy Minella. She advanced to the quarterfinals defeating fifth seed Yulia Putintseva and wild card Daniela Hantuchová. She lost in the quarterfinals to second seed Jelena Janković.[56] Cîrstea played in her final tournament before Wimbledon at theEastbourne International. She retired during her first round of qualifying match over seventh seedVarvara Lepchenko. At theWimbledon Championships, Cîrstea was defeated in the first round by tenth seed and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová.[57]
After Wimbledon, Cîrstea played at theReinert Open, a $50k event in Versmold, Germany. As the second seed, she made it to the semifinals beating qualifierAndrea Gámiz,Nadia Podoroska, and eighth seedLesley Kerkhove. She lost her semifinal match toAntonia Lottner.[58] Competing at theSwedish Open, Cîrstea lost in the first round to fourth seedAnnika Beck.[59]
Cîrstea played only two tournaments during the US Open Series. At theWestern & Southern Open, she lost in the final round of qualifying to seventh seed Alizé Cornet. At theConnecticut Open, she lost in the second round of qualifying toLouisa Chirico.[60] Playing at theUS Open, she lost in the first round to compatriotAna Bogdan in three sets.[61]
After the US Open, Cîrstea competed at theOpen de Biarritz, a $100k event in France. As the second seed, she advanced to the semifinals where she lost to eighth seed Rebecca Šramková. During the last week of September, Cîrstea played at theTashkent Open. As the seventh seed, she was defeated in the first round by Francesca Schiavone.[62] Playing at theGenerali Ladies Linz in Austria, Cîrstea upset sixth seed Kiki Bertens in the first round.[63] She lost in the second round to French qualifierOcéane Dodin.[64] Her last WTA event of the year was at theBGL Luxembourg Open where she lost in the first round to qualifierTereza Smitková.[citation needed]
Cîrstea's final two tournaments of the season were on the ITF Circuit. At theInternationaux de la Vienne in Poitiers, France, she lost in the first round to Anett Kontaveit. Playing her last tournament of 2016 at theOpen de Limoges, she was defeated in the second round byTamara Korpatsch.[citation needed]
Cîrstea ended the year ranked 81.[citation needed]
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Cîrstea started her 2017 season at theShenzhen Open. She defeatedKristína Kučová in the first round before losing to top seed and defending champion Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round.[65] Cîrstea made it to the fourth round of theAustralian Open for the first time in her career defeatingIrina Khromacheva, tenth seed Carla Suárez Navarro, and Alison Riske in the first three rounds before losing to seventh seedGarbiñe Muguruza.[66]
Her next tournament was theTaiwan Open. Cirstea retired midway through her first-round match againstRisa Ozaki due to a left wrist injury.[67] She returned from injury to be a part of the Romanian team at theFed Cup World Group II against Belgium. She lost the second rubber against Yanina Wickmayer in a close three-setter which went on for 3 hours & 22 minutes.[68] Even though Romania lost the tie against Belgium, she won her doubles match teaming up with Monica Niculescu.
After making first-round exits at theHungarian Ladies Open and atIndian Wells, she won her first singles match in nearly two months againstMonica Puig in the first round of theMiami Open. Cîrstea fell to Caroline Wozniacki in the third round. She made the quarterfinals of theMadrid Open where she lost toKristina Mladenovic, and the semifinals of theNuremberg Cup. At theFrench Open she lost to 21st seed Carla Suárez Navarro in the second round.
Her first tournament of the grass court season was atEastbourne, where she entered the main draw as a lucky loser following the withdrawal ofCoCo Vandeweghe; she lost toHsieh Su-wei in the final qualifying round. In the main draw, she defeatedKateřina Siniaková, before falling to the fifth seedJohanna Konta. Cîrstea reached the third round ofWimbledon, defeating 23rd seedKiki Bertens in the first round, before bowing out to the eventual champion, Garbiñe Muguruza.
AtBucharest, she lost in the first round to compatriotAna Bogdan, before entering theRogers Cup in Toronto. Qualifying for the main draw, defeatingAleksandra Wozniak andCamila Giorgi, she was defeated in the first round byCaroline Garcia. She next lost in the first qualifying round ofCincinnati toAleksandra Krunić, before entering theUS Open. DefeatingLesley Pattinama Kerkhove in the first round, she fell toJeļena Ostapenko in the second round.
AtSeoul, Cîrstea defeatedMisa Eguchi andNicole Gibbs, before falling toLuksika Kumkhum. AtWuhan, she defeatedWang Yafan in the first round, before being defeated byWang Qiang. AtBeijing, she reached the quarterfinals, defeatingMona Barthel, Christina McHale, andKarolína Plíšková; the latter win was her first against a top ten opponent since 2014. She lost in the quarterfinal match against Ostapenko.
AtLinz, she defeatedAlison Van Uytvanck andNatalia Vikhlyantseva, before being defeated byMagdaléna Rybáriková. Her final tournament of the year was atLuxembourg, where she was defeated in the first round byVerónica Cepede Royg. She ended the year ranked No. 37.
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Cîrstea's first tournament of the year was atBrisbane, where she defeatedJennifer Brady in the first round before losing toAnastasija Sevastova. AtHobart, she lost in the first round toHeather Watson, whilst at theAustralian Open, she defeatedZarina Diyas in the first round, before falling toLucie Šafářová.
She next enteredSt. Petersburg, where she lost in the first round toDominika Cibulková; she next won herFed Cup tie againstCarol Zhao. She next competed inDoha, where she defeatedMaria Sakkari andElise Mertens, before falling toGarbiñe Muguruza. AtBudapest, she lost in the first round to lucky loserViktória Kužmová. AtIndian Wells, she defeated compatriot Monica Niculescu in the first round, before falling toVenus Williams. In receipt of a first-round bye atMiami, she was defeated in the second round by Hsieh Su-wei.
Atİstanbul, she lost in the first round toYulia Putintseva, whilst atMadrid, she defeatedKateřina Siniaková, before losing toDaria Kasatkina. AtRome, she lost in the first round to qualifierDanielle Collins. AtNuremberg, she defeatedAndrea Petkovic andMadison Brengle, before retiring from her quarterfinal match againstAlison Riske. At theFrench Open, she lost in the first round toDaria Gavrilova.
Cîrstea's first grass-court tournament of the year was atMallorca, where she lost in the first round toJohanna Larsson. EnteringEastbourne, she lost in the first round toAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova, whilst, atWimbledon, she defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková, before losing toEvgeniya Rodina. At her home tournament inBucharest, she reached the quarterfinals by defeating Çağla Büyükakçay andMaryna Zanevska, before falling to first seed and eventual champion Anastasija Sevastova.
At theRogers Cup in Montreal, in a mirror of her results in Indian Wells, she defeated Monica Niculescu in the first round, before losing to Venus Williams. AtCincinnati, she defeatedVania King, before falling toAjla Tomljanović. At theUS Open, she defeated Alison Riske, before falling toMaria Sharapova.
Cîrstea failed to qualify forWuhan, losing toNicole Gibbs in the first qualifying round, and also failed to qualify forBeijing, losing in the final qualifying round toPolona Hercog. Gaining entry as a lucky loser following the withdrawal ofAshleigh Barty, she lost in the first round toKiki Bertens. AtLinz, she was defeated in the first round byJil Teichmann. Her final event of the year was at theITF tournament in Dubai, where she defeatedYuliya Hatouka, before falling to the eventual championPeng Shuai. Cîrstea ended the year ranked No. 86.
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Cîrstea's first tournament of the year was at theShenzhen Open. She reached the quarterfinals where she lost to two-time finalist and eventual finalist, Alison Riske.[69] Ranked 84 at theAustralian Open, she was defeated in the first round byRebecca Peterson.[70]
AtDoha, she was defeated in the first qualifying round by doubles specialistShuko Aoyama. AtBudapest, she defeated Anna Bondár and Aleksandra Krunić, before falling to Anastasia Potapova. At theIndian Wells Challenger, she received a first-round bye, before falling toKristie Ahn in the second round. At theIndian Wells Open itself, she defeatedDanielle Lao in the first round, before falling toNao Hibino. She lost in the first round of theMiami Open toLaura Siegemund.
AtLugano, Cîrstea defeated Mona Barthel in the first round, before losing to the eventual champion Polona Hercog. Atİstanbul, she defeated compatriotIrina Bara, before losing toBarbora Strýcová. AtMadrid, she defeatedMadison Keys in the first round, before falling toCaroline Garcia. She had a strong run to the semifinals ofNuremberg, defeatingKirsten Flipkens,Laura Ioana Paar, andNina Stojanović, before falling to the eventual championYulia Putintseva. At theFrench Open, she defeatedKaja Juvan, before losing toAliona Bolsova.
Cîrstea's next match was atWimbledon, where she lost in the first round toAmanda Anisimova. AtBåstad, where she was the top seed, she lost in the first round toJohanna Larsson. AtBucharest, she lost in the first round to compatriotJaqueline Cristian. InJūrmala, she was defeated in the first round byValentina Ivakhnenko. She did not play another match until theUS Open, where she defeatedKateřina Siniaková and Aliona Bolsova, before falling toTaylor Townsend.
AtHiroshima, she lost in the first round to Sara Sorribes Tormo. This was followed by a run to the final atTashkent, the tournament she had won 11 years prior. She defeatedDenisa Allertová,Ysaline Bonaventure,Danka Kovinić, andKatarina Zavatska, before losing in the final toAlison Van Uytvanck in three sets. AtLuxembourg, she defeatedPauline Parmentier in the first round, before losing to the defending champion,Julia Görges. Her final tournament of the year was the 125k atLimoges, defeatingTatjana Maria and Sara Sorribes Tormo to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to Nicole Gibbs. Cîrstea ended the year ranked No. 72.
Cîrstea started her 2020 season at theShenzhen Open. She lost in the first round to Chinese wildcardWang Xiyu.[71] Despite qualifying for theHobart International, she withdrew from the tournament due to a left leg injury.[72] Ranked 74 at theAustralian Open, she beat 32nd seed, Barbora Strýcová, in the first round.[73] She lost in the second round toCoco Gauff.[74]
Getting past qualifying at theDubai Championships, Cîrstea fell in the first round toAnett Kontaveit.[75] InDoha, she was beaten in the first round byElena Rybakina.[76] The WTA tour was suspended from March through July due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[77][78]
When the WTA resumed tournament play in August, Cîrstea played at thePalermo Open. She lost in the first round toSara Errani in three sets.[79] At theWestern & Southern Open in New York rather than Cincinnati, she was defeated in the final round of qualifying byAnna Kalinskaya.[80] Ranked 77 at theUS Open, Cîrstea upset ninth seed, Johanna Konta, in the second round.[81] She was eliminated from the tournament in the third round by 20th seedKarolína Muchová.[82]
Cîrstea suffered a first-round loss at theFrench Open to 14th seed Rybakina.[83]
In October, Cîrstea competed at the first edition of theJ&T Banka Ostrava Open. She lost in the first round of qualifying toPaula Badosa.[84] At the2020 Upper Austria Linz, she was defeated in the second round by qualifierOcéane Dodin.[85] Cîrstea's final tournament of the year was at theAl Habtoor Tennis Challenge, an ITF tournament in Dubai. She won her first singles title since January 2016 by beating fifth seed, Kateřina Siniaková, in the final.[86]
Cîrstea ended the year ranked 86.[citation needed]
When Cîrstea entered Australia for theAustralian Open, she had to enter a hard quarantine as she travelled on a flight on which a fellow passenger tested positive forCOVID-19.[87] After this, she entered the warm-up tournament designed for those players affected by this hard quarantine, theGrampians Trophy. There, she beat second seed,Belinda Bencic, in the second round.[88] She fell in the quarterfinals toAnn Li.[89] In this match against Li, Cîrstea was involved in an unusual incident where she requested a code violation from the umpire for coaching, as she was irritated by her coaches' repeated comments towards her.[90] At theAustralian Open, she scored her first top 10 victory since 2017 by defeating ninth seed, three-time Grand slam winner, and 2019 finalist,Petra Kvitová, in the second round.[91] She lost in the third round to 19th seedMarkéta Vondroušová.[92]
Seeded sixth at theLyon Open, Cîrstea lost in the first round toNina Stojanović.[93] InDubai, she was defeated in the second round by 15th seedAnett Kontaveit.[94] At theMiami Open, she fell in the second round to 22nd seed Kontaveit.[95]
Cîrstea's first clay-court tournament of the year was at theİstanbul Cup. She reached her first final since Tashkent in 2019, and her first on clay since Budapest in 2007. She defeated top seed, Elise Mertens, in straight sets to claim her first title since 2008; she did so without dropping a set throughout the entire tournament.[96] Following this victory, her ranking rose to No. 58, her highest ranking since October 2018. Playing inMadrid as a wildcard, she was beaten in the first round byJessica Pegula.[97] At theInternationaux de Strasbourg, she reached her second final of the season; she lost to fifth seed Barbora Krejčíková.[98] Ranked 54 at theFrench Open, she made it to the fourth round where she was ousted from the tournament by eventual semifinalistTamara Zidanšek.[99]
Cîrstea began her grass-court season at theGerman Open in Berlin. She lost in the first round to sixth seedGarbiñe Muguruza.[100] Seeded sixth at the first edition of theBad Homburg Open, she was defeated in the first round byAndrea Petkovic.[101] Ranked 45 atWimbledon, she stunned 12th seed, two-time Grand Slam winner, and former world No. 1,Victoria Azarenka, in the second round in three sets.[102] She was eliminated in the third round by British wildcardEmma Raducanu.[103]
In August, Cîrstea competed at theCanadian Open in Montreal. She lost in the second round to eighth seed Azarenka.[104] At theWestern & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she was defeated in the first round by eventual finalistJil Teichmann.[105] Seeded third at the first edition of theChicago Women's Open, she was eliminated in the first round byTereza Martincová.[106] Ranked 39 at theUS Open, she beat 29th seed, Veronika Kudermetova, in the first round. She then lost in the second round toShelby Rogers.[107]
Seeded fourth at theSlovenia Open, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals where she lost to eventual championJasmine Paolini.[108] At theOstrava Open, she was defeated in the first round by eventual champion Kontaveit.[109] Seeded 32nd atIndian Wells, she lost in the third round to fourth seedElina Svitolina.[110]
Cîrstea ended the year ranked 38.[citation needed]
Cîrstea started her 2022 season at the first edition of theMelbourne Summer Set 2. Seeded fifth, she lost in the second round to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova.[111] Seeded ninth at theAdelaide International 2, she was defeated in the first round by Anhelina Kalinina.[112] Ranked No. 38 at theAustralian Open, she beat 20th seed, Petra Kvitová, for the second straight year in the first round.[113] She then beat 10th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in the third round to reach the fourth round for the second time in her career.[114] She ended up losing to seventh seedIga Świątek, in three sets.[115]
Cîrstea lost in the second round of theSt. Petersburg Trophy to second seed and eventual champion,Anett Kontaveit.[116] InDoha, she was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by fifth seed and two-time finalist, Garbiñe Muguruza.[117] Seeded second at theLyon Open, she was ousted in the semifinals byDayana Yastremska.[118]
Seeded 26th at theIndian Wells Open, she reached the fourth round where she lost to 24th seed and 2015 champion,Simona Halep.[119] Seeded 24th at theMiami Open, she was defeated in the second round byZhang Shuai.[120]
Cîrstea began her clay-court season at theİstanbul Cup. Seeded second and the defending champion, she made it to the semifinals where she fell to third seedVeronika Kudermetova.[121] InMadrid, she was beaten in the first round by SpaniardNuria Párrizas Díaz.[122] At theItalian Open, she lost in the first round to ninth seed and eventual finalist,Ons Jabeur.[123] Seeded third and last year finalist at theInternationaux de Strasbourg, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier,Ekaterina Makarova, in three sets.[124]Seeded 26th at theFrench Open, she lost in the second round to 2018 finalistSloane Stephens.[125]
Cîrstea started her grass-court season at theBirmingham Classic. Seeded sixth, she reached the semifinals where she fell to eighth seed Zhang Shuai.[126] InEastbourne, she retired during her first-round match against Anhelina Kalinina due to illness.[127] Seeded 26th atWimbledon, she lost in the second round to eventual semifinalistTatjana Maria.[128]
Seeded fourth at thePrague Open, Cîrstea fell in her first-round match to qualifierOksana Selekhmeteva.[129]
Cîrstea began her US Open preparation at theWestern & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She beat 12th seed,Belinda Bencic, in the first round.[130] She lost in the second round to eventual finalist Petra Kvitová.[131] After the US Open, she hired former playerThomas Johansson to be her coach.[132]
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At theDubai Championships she defeated 11th seed Haddad Maia in the longest match of the season thus far lasting 3 hours and 29 minutes.[133]
Ranked No. 83 at the next WTA 1000 at Indian Wells, for a second consecutive year she reached the fourth round defeatingKimberly Birrell, 19th seedMadison Keys by walkover, andBernarda Pera. Next she defeated fifth seedCaroline Garcia to reach her first quarterfinal at this level since 2017 and at this tournament and only her fifth overall.[134] In the next WTA 1000 inMiami she defeated again fourth seed Caroline Garcia, her second top-5 win in two weeks,[135] andKarolína Muchová to reach the fourth round and the first in Miami since 2013.[136] Next she defeated Markéta Vondroušová to reach back-to-back quarterfinals on a WTA 1000 level. She reached the semifinals without dropping a set, only for a second time at the WTA 1000 level in a decade (after the 2013 Canadian Open final), defeating world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, for her biggest win of her career.[137] She was the first player ranked outside the top-50 to win 9+ main draw matches at the Sunshine Double in a single year: four in Indian Wells and five in Miami.[138] As a result, she entered back into the top 50 a spot shy of the top 40.[139]
In May, Cîrstea defeatedElizabeth Mandlik in the final of theCatalonia Open to become the first ever champion in the inaugural edition of thatWTA 125 tournament.[140]
Seeded 30th at theUS Open, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinal of a major for the second time, and 14 years after her first quarterfinal appearance at the2009 French Open.[141] Her run to the quarterfinals included wins overKayla Day andAnna Kalinskaya before upsets over former Grand Slam champion and No. 4 seed,Elena Rybakina, in the third round and No. 15 seed Belinda Bencic in the round of 16.[142] In her quarterfinal match, she fell to tenth seed and formerFrench Open finalist Karolína Muchová in straight sets.[143]
At2024 Dubai Tennis Championships, Cîrstea reached the semifinals defeatingSofia Kenin,[144] 13th seed Veronika Kudermetova,[145]Donna Vekić[146] and then seventh seed Markéta Vondroušová in a quarterfinal during which she saved six match points.[147][148] She lost in the last four to eventual championJasmine Paolini.[149]
A foot injury which required surgery meant she missed the second half of the 2024 season.[150][151]
Given a wildcard entry, Cîrstea made it through to the quarterfinals at the2025 Dubai Tennis Championships, with wins over 10th seedDaria Kasatkina,[152] qualifierAlycia Parks[153] and eighth seedEmma Navarro,[154] before losing to 14th seed Karolína Muchová.[155] The following week, she reached the quarterfinals at the2025 ATX Open, defeating Laura Siegemund[156] and second seedDiana Shnaider.[157] Her run was ended by fifth seed McCartney Kessler.[158]
Partnering Anna Kalinskaya, Cîrstea won her first WTA 1000 doubles title at the2025 Madrid Open, defeating Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in the final.[159][160]
She overcameMihaela Buzărnescu,[161] fifth seedVarvara Gracheva[162] andMaría Lourdes Carlé[163] to make it into the semifinals at the2025 Iași Open, at which point she lost to sixth seedJil Teichmann.[164]
In August 2025 atTennis in the Land, Cîrstea qualified for the main-draw and defeatedMoyuka Uchijima,[165] Jil Teichmann,[166] top seedLiudmila Samsonova[167] andAnastasia Zakharova to reach the final,[168] where she overcameAnn Li to win her third WTA singles title and first in four years.[169][170]
At the2025 Japan Open, wins over wildcard entrantMoyuka Uchijima,[171]Katie Boulter[172] andViktorija Golubic[173] saw Cîrstea make it through to the semifinals, at which point her run was ended by fourth seed and eventual champion,Leylah Fernandez.[174] Seeded seventh at the2025 Hong Kong Open, she defeatedDalma Gálfi[175] andAjla Tomljanović,[176] before losing to second seed Leylah Fernandez for the second successive tournament, this time in the quarterfinals.[177]
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Cîrstea is an aggressive baseliner, whose game centers around her quick, flat, and powerful groundstrokes. As a result of her high-risk game style, she typically accumulates high numbers of both winners and unforced errors.[178] Her backhand is her most reliable groundstroke, and she consistently hits winners with this shot, and, even when she does not aim specifically for the lines, her backhand penetrates deep into the court, allowing her to dictate play. Her forehand is hit very flat, allowing her to hit deep into the court with regularity, generate consistent power, and hit a large numbers of winners; her forehand is somewhat erratic, however, meaning that unforced errors do accumulate from this wing. Cîrstea is capable of generating sharp angles off both sides, producing winners. According to theTennis Spy, her long stride means she covers ground while not appearing to move particularly quickly, allowing her to execute her game style excellently.[178] As a doubles player, she is also a very solidvolleyer, and likes to attack short balls with powerful swinging volleys.[178] Her first serve is powerful, peaking at 109 mph (175 km/h), allowing her to serve aces and dictate play from the first stroke, however a tendency to take risks on her second serve does lead to an accumulation of double faults when nervous.
Between 2006 and 2016, Cîrstea was sponsored for clothing, apparel, and footwear byAdidas; since 2016, she has been sponsored byNew Balance. Cîrstea has used numerous racquets throughout her professional career – until 2014, Cîrstea usedWilson racquets, specifically endorsing the Wilson Blade range of racquets. In 2015, Cîrstea used theBabolat Pure Strike racquet, before switching to the Pure Aero model between 2016 and 2019. Cîrstea later switched to theYonex EZONE 100 racquet in 2019, and is still using this racquet currently.
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 4R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 17 | 16–17 |
| French Open | A | 2R | QF | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 3R | Q3 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 16 | 17–16 |
| Wimbledon | Q2 | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | Q2 | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | NH | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 16 | 14–16 |
| US Open | Q1 | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | Q3 | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | QF | A | 2R | 0 / 16 | 19–16 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 3–4 | 8–4 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 5–4 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 7–4 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 8–4 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0 / 65 | 66–65 |
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | ... | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | A | A | 0 / 9 | 5–9 | |
| French Open | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | A | A | 0 / 9 | 5–9 | |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 2R | NH | A | 0 / 7 | 5–7 | |
| US Open | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 9 | 8–9 | |
| Win–loss | 4–3 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0 / 34 | 23–34 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2013 | Canadian Open | Hard |  Serena Williams | 2–6, 0–6 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2025 | Madrid Open | Clay |  Anna Kalinskaya | Veronika Kudermetova Elise Mertens | 6–7(10–12), 6–2, [12–10] |
Women's Tennis Association: Top Romanian female singles tennis players | |
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as of 3 November 2025 | |
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Women's Tennis Association: Top Romanian female doubles tennis players | |
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as of 3 November 2025 | |
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