Cirstea outlasts Efremova in Roland-Garros farewell opener

In a generational clash at Roland-Garros, veteran Sorana Cirstea, playing her final tournament in Paris, overcame 17-year-old French wild card Ksenia Efremova. The Romanian secured a 6-3, 6-1 victory, marking her first main-draw win here since 2022 and equalling a career-best on clay.

Sorana Cirstea and Ksenia Efremova, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Julien Nouet / Tennis Majors

Cédric Rouquette

May 24, 2026

Sorana Cirstea (No 18) beat 17-year-old French wild card Ksenia Efremova 6-3, 6-1 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, a meeting between a 36-year-old playing her final Roland-Garros and a 17-year-old in her first Grand Slam main draw.

The teenager led 3-1 and had a chance for 4-2 before Cirstea ran away with it. Eleventh WTA main-draw win on clay in 2026 for the Romanian, equalling her career best.

Efremova’s early lead

It took the 18th seed an early break of focus from her teenage opponent to settle the contest. Efremova, the reigning Australian Open girls’ champion and the junior world No. 1, led 3-1 in the opening set and had a point for 4-2 against a player ranked 600 places above her.

The match could have tilted there. It did not. From 30-30 in that seventh game, Cirstea won 11 of the next 13 to take a one-set lead and a stranglehold on the second.

Efremova took the lead because she was aggressive from the first ball, particularly on return. But as soon as Cirstea found her own speed and depth, the rallies turned and Efremova was forced onto the defensive. Her offensive choices lost clarity – she kept attacking, but without real opportunities to attack on, feeling obliged to because Cirstea was winning almost every point once she had taken control of the rally.

The veteran was clear-eyed about the level her opponent had brought. “I think she’s a great player already,” Cirstea said afterwards. “Playing at a very high level. She started very very strong. I felt today I really had to bring my best form in order to win. I’m sure she’s going to have a great career.”

The Romanian arrived in Paris on the back of the best fortnight of her resurgent final season. Two weeks earlier in Rome, the 36-year-old had recovered from 6-2, 2-0 down to beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the third round – her first career win over a world No. 1, at the 20th attempt – and gone on to reach the semi-finals.

The win on Sunday was her 11th WTA main-draw victory on clay in 2026, equalling her career-best for a calendar year on the surface, set in 2021. She has won nine of her last 11 matches, and Sunday delivered her first Roland-Garros main-draw win since 2022.

Efremova reflects on her Grand Slam debut

For Efremova, born in Moscow but representing France since her family’s move to the Côte d’Azur, the loss closes a remarkable first chapter. She came in ranked No. 623 in the world.

Sunday was her first main-draw match on the women’s tour and her first Grand Slam main draw. She was, by her own description afterwards, the architect of the moment the contest turned. “I was 3-1, and then 3-2 with a ball for 4-2,” she said. “After that I dropped just a little – maybe 5 per cent in how hard I was hitting the ball. And against a player with that much experience, she came back easily. That 5 per cent was enough for her to take it back.”

Efremova refused to read the scoreline as a verdict on the gap. “Even if the final score was 6-3, 6-1, honestly, I don’t think I was that far. It’s still experience, and you have to learn.” Her closing reflection was about the experience itself, on a court she had practised on for days with the Paris rain forcing her indoors.

“Playing in front of the crowd was cool. I really enjoyed it. They were behind me, I’d been waiting for a long time for this. It was also my first match in the pros. You have to enjoy these moments too. I hope I’ll play Roland-Garros plenty more times in my career.”

Cirstea, who has said before the season that 2026 would be her last, moves into the second round with the air of a player not quite ready to leave. She will face the winner of the match Lys vs. Marcenko.