Sorana Cirstea to Retire after 2026 Season

By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, December 7, 2025
Photo credit: Tennis In the Land Facebook

The 2026 season will be Sorana Cirstea’s farewell to the pro circuit.

The 35-year-old Cirstea announced she will retire after the 2026 season.

“I love tennis. I love the discipline, the routines, the hard work,” Cirstea posted on Instagram. “The competition and the adrenaline fuel my soul. But like everything in life, it must come to an end.

“Next year it will be my 20th year on tour as a professional tennis player. I never expected to compete for such a long time, but the last couple of years have been my happiest on court and they just kept me going. That being said, I have now decided that 2026 will be my last year on tour.”

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A post shared by Sorana Cirstea (@soranacirstea)

Cirstea calls her farewell season “not a farewell, but a see you one more time.”

“When you love something so much, it’s not easy to say “good bye”. For now though this is not a farewell, but a “see you one more time”,” Cirstea said. “I still have lots of things I want to improve, I have goals and ambitions, so I hope to be able to achieve some of them next year and finish this wonderful career on a high note and on my terms.”

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Last August, Cirstea converted her fifth championship point defeating American Ann Li 6-2, 6-4 to capture the WTA 250 title in Cleveland. Contesting her seventh career final, Cirstea collected her third career Tour-level championship without surrendering a set. 

It came 17 years after the Romanian veteran won her maiden crown in Tashkent and four years after she won Istanbul.

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

Romanian fans serenaded Cirstea with chants of “So-Ra-Na! So-Ra-Na!” and presented her with the Romanian flag and flowers

“I came here to play some matches with absolutely zero expectations,” Cirstea said. “I want to thank my coach Adrian [Cruciat]. 

“I couldn’t ask for a better coach. Very recently, two months ago, we got back together and then straightaway we got the title… I’m very, very grateful for [the Romanians] support. This one is for you guys as well. I didn’t think there were so many Romanians in Cleveland.” 

World No. 112 Cirstea is the first qualifier to win the Tennis in the Land title.  Cirstea won two qualifying matches then beat Moyuka Uchijima, Jil Teichmann, Liudmila Samsonova and Anastasia Zakharova en route to her first final of the year.