History of Sorana Cîrstea in Timeline

Sorana Cîrstea is a Romanian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in August 2013 and a doubles ranking of No. 35 in March 2009. Cîrstea has won four singles and six doubles titles on the WTA Tour, marking her as a successful competitor in professional women's tennis.

Sections (1)

Full Timeline

April 1990: Sorana Cîrstea's Birth

On April 1990, Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea was born. She is a Romanian professional tennis player.

June 2000: First Romanian to reach WTA Tour final since Ruxandra Dragomir

Sorana Cîrstea was the first Romanian to reach a WTA Tour final since Ruxandra Dragomir in June 2000.

2005: German Junior Open Title

In 2005, Cîrstea won the German Junior Open (Grade 1), defeating Erika Zanchetta in the final.

2006: ITF Junior Circuit Ranking and Trofeo Bonfiglio

In 2006, Cîrstea reached a highest combined ranking of No. 6 in the ITF Junior Circuit and was runner-up in the Trofeo Bonfiglio (Grade A), losing to Ioana Raluca Olaru in the final.

2006: Turned Professional

In 2006, Sorana Cîrstea turned professional and ended the year ranked No. 353 in the WTA rankings.

April 2007: Budapest Grand Prix Final

In April 2007, Sorana Cîrstea reached the final of the Budapest Grand Prix, a Tier-III event, as a qualifier, losing to Gisela Dulko in the final.

2007: Reached Final at Budapest

In 2007, Cîrstea reached her first final on clay since Budapest at the İstanbul Cup.

October 2008: First WTA Title in Tashkent

In October 2008, Sorana Cîrstea won her first WTA title in Tashkent, defeating Sabine Lisicki.

2008: Fell out of top 100

Due to losing in the first round to qualifier Alexandra Panova at the Australian Open, Cîrstea fell out of the top 100 for the first time since 2008.

2008: Broke Streak of Main Draw Appearances

In 2008, Cîrstea broke her streak of main draw appearances dating back to the 2008 Australian Open, due to not qualifying for the French Open.

2008: First Title Since 2008

In 2008, Cîrstea claimed her first title since then by defeating Elise Mertens at the İstanbul Cup. She won without dropping a set.

March 2009: Career-Best Doubles Ranking

In March 2009, Sorana Cîrstea reached her career-best ranking of No. 35 in doubles.

2009: US Open Quarterfinal

At the US Open in 2009, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinal, marking her first major quarterfinal appearance since the French Open.

2009: Year-End Ranking

In 2009, Sorana Cîrstea finished the year ranked No. 43 in the world.

2010: Hopman Cup Participation

In early January 2010, Cîrstea played in the Hopman Cup with Victor Hănescu, where Romania finished last in their group.

2011: Won the title in the 2011 Open GDF Suez de Bretagne

Cîrstea won the title in the 2011 Open GDF Suez de Bretagne in Saint-Malo, France.

2012: Wimbledon participation

At Wimbledon 2012, Cîrstea defeated Pauline Parmentier in the first round. Sorana beat Li Na in the second round but lost to Maria Kirilenko.

2012: Australian Open

In 2012, at the Australian Open, Cîrstea eliminated sixth seed Sam Stosur. In the second round, she beat Urszula Radwańska before she lost to Sara Errani.

August 2013: Career-High Singles Ranking

In August 2013, Sorana Cîrstea achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 in singles.

2013: Rogers Cup Final

In 2013, Cîrstea reached the final at the Rogers Cup.

2013: 2013 Season Highlights

In 2013, Sorana Cîrstea reached the third round of the Australian Open, a semifinal showing at the Pattaya Open, the third round at Indian Wells, the 4th round at the Sony Open in Miami, the third round at the French Open, and the quarterfinal of the Aegon Classic.

2013: Miami Open

In Miami in 2013, Cîrstea reached the fourth round.

2014: Defeated Plíšková at Beijing

At Beijing in 2014, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals, defeating Karolína Plíšková. This win marked her first against a top-ten opponent since 2014, before losing to Ostapenko.

2014: Year-End Ranking

In 2014, Cîrstea ended the year ranked 93, marking her seventh straight top-100 season.

2014: Fed Cup Contribution

In April 2014, Cîrstea contributed to Romania's promotion to World Group II in the Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs, winning both her ties against Ana Ivanovic and Bojana Jovanovski.

2014: Early 2014 Season

Sorana Cîrstea's early 2014 season saw her losing in the first round at the Auckland Classic, Sydney, and the Australian Open.

2015: Racquet Change

In 2015, Cîrstea began using the Babolat Pure Strike racquet.

2015: Indian Wells

In 2015, at Indian Wells, Cîrstea reached the fourth round where she lost to Simona Halep.

January 2016: Won Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge

In January 2016, Cîrstea won the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, an ITF tournament in Dubai, marking her first singles title since January 2016. She defeated Kateřina Siniaková in the final.

2016: New Balance Sponsorship

In 2016, Cîrstea started being sponsored by New Balance for clothing, apparel, and footwear, ending her sponsorship with Adidas. Also she switched to the Pure Aero model between 2016 and 2019.

2016: Year-End Ranking

In 2016, Sorana Cîrstea ended the year ranked 81.

2017: Australian Open Victory

At the Australian Open in 2017, Cîrstea achieved her first top 10 victory since 2017 by defeating Petra Kvitová in the second round.

2017: Quarterfinal since 2017

Cîrstea reached her first quarterfinal at this level since 2017

October 2018: Highest Ranking Since 2018

Following her victory at the İstanbul Cup, Cîrstea's ranking rose to No. 58, her highest ranking since October 2018.

2018: French Open

In 2018, at the French Open, Cîrstea lost in the second round to Sloane Stephens.

2019: Australian Open finalist

At the Australian Open in 2019, Petra Kvitová was a finalist, and Cîrstea would beat her at the 2020 Australian Open.

2019: Reached Final at Tashkent

In 2019, Cîrstea reached her first final since Tashkent at the İstanbul Cup.

2019: Racquet Change

In 2019, Cîrstea switched to the Yonex EZONE 100 racquet and is still using it. She used Babolat Pure Aero model between 2016 and 2019.

2020: Competed at Ostrava Open and Upper Austria Linz

In 2020, Cîrstea competed at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open, losing in the first round of qualifying. At the Upper Austria Linz, she was defeated in the second round.

2020: Australian Open

In 2020, at the Australian Open, Cîrstea beat Barbora Strýcová in the first round and lost to Coco Gauff in the second round.

2022: Australian Open

In 2022, at the Australian Open, Cîrstea beat Petra Kvitová in the first round for the second straight year and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round, reaching the fourth round. She lost to Iga Świątek.

2024: Dubai Championships Semifinal

At the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships, Cîrstea reached the semifinals. She saved six match points in a quarterfinal match against Markéta Vondroušová but lost to Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals. A foot injury later required surgery, causing her to miss the second half of the 2024 season.

December 2025: Retirement Announcement

In December 2025, Cîrstea confirmed that the 2026 WTA Tour would be her final season as a professional tennis player and that she planned to retire at the end of the year.

2025: Japan Open Semifinal

At the 2025 Japan Open, Cîrstea reached the semifinals, where she lost to Leylah Fernandez.

2025: Dubai Tennis Championships Quarterfinal

Given a wildcard entry, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships, losing to Karolína Muchová.

2025: Madrid Open Doubles Title

In 2025, Cîrstea won the Madrid Open doubles title with Anna Kalinskaya.

2025: Tennis in the Land Title

In August 2025, Cîrstea won her third WTA singles title and first in four years at the Tennis in the Land, defeating Ann Li in the final.

2025: Hong Kong Open Quarterfinal

Seeded seventh at the 2025 Hong Kong Open, Cîrstea lost to Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals.

2026: Australian Open Exchange with Osaka

During the 2026 Australian Open, Cîrstea had a tense exchange with Naomi Osaka over vocalisations between points, offering a frosty handshake.

2026: Transylvania Open Win

Entering as the third seed, Cîrstea won the 2026 Transylvania Open, defeating Emma Raducanu in the final without dropping a set. This was Cîrstea's fourth career singles title.

2026: Final Season

In December 2025, Cîrstea confirmed that the 2026 WTA Tour would be her final season as a professional tennis player and that she planned to retire at the end of the year.