“The Grand Slam I grew up dreaming of”: Sorana Cîrstea reflects on her last Roland-Garros
The 36-year-old Romanian, beaten 6-0 6-3 by Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals of her farewell Paris campaign, on a season beyond her expectations, the longevity she is proudest of, and the clay-court tournament she dreamed of as a girl.
Sorana Cirstea, Roland-Garros 2026 | Gepa / PsNewz
You’ve had a very good clay season and Roland-Garros after all. What are you most proud of?
Sorana Cîrseta: I think it was a great tournament, and also a very good clay season. I’m very happy. Today, unfortunately, Mirra was way too strong. The conditions were very different, very slow, and I thought she didn’t give me any chance. Sometimes it happens – the opponent is better on the day than you, and you have to accept it.
It wasn’t quite your day, but it was still a quarter-final, your first since 2009. Are you sticking to your original decision on this being your last year?
Sorana Cîrseta: Yes, I’m thinking about this – nothing changed my mind. I’m just very grateful for how the year is going and the way I’m playing. Again, overall it was a very solid tournament, but today I felt the conditions were very, very slow. I wasn’t able to hurt her with anything, and she really played very, very good. I think my level was a little bit low and her level very, very high – this is where you get the difference.
Q. When you retire at the end of the season, what are you proudest of looking back?
Sorana Cîrseta: I think the longevity of my career is one of the things I’m the most proud of. I never expected that, to be honest. And also the way I worked, as a player but also as a person, through these years in tennis – because I feel like this world has taught me so much. I’m just very blessed and very grateful, and these are things I’ll take with me for the rest of my life. No matter which area I go into after my tennis career, I will always cherish the sport and stay close to it.
Q. You had a nice moment with Mirra at the end of the match. What do you think of her, as a person and as a player?
Sorana Cîrseta: Absolutely adorable. She’s such a wonderful girl, and also the whole team. She has a beautiful team — her coach, her fitness coach, everyone. They are amazing people, and I’m very happy she surrounded herself with such good people. She’s a blessing for the sport, a wonderful girl. So sweet, so kind, and at the same time she has a very good personality – she’s very funny. And she plays amazing, so I think she does everything well.
Q. She was talking about how much she feels she’s grown from last year, when she had a difficult time here. Do you see that evolution and growth in her?
Sorana Cîrseta: Yes, absolutely. I played her in Linz a couple of weeks back, and I already feel like she’s evolved since then. It’s very nice to see her becoming more and more comfortable with herself, and also on the court, dealing with her emotions better. I think she has everything to win this one.
The Grand Slam I grew up dreaming of is this one. Coming from Romania, growing up on this surface, it’s the one you dream to win.
So I guess this was your last Roland-Garros. If you had to pick three great moments you lived here — your best memories, what would they be?
Sorana Cîrseta: It’s very hard to pick three memories from, I don’t know, twenty years and twenty Roland-Garros. Of course this year will be special for me, and the 2009 run was great too. But I’ve had amazing wins — third round, fourth round — and Paris was always special. The Grand Slam I grew up dreaming of is this one. Coming from Romania, growing up on this surface, it’s the one you dream to win. So it’s always been special. I love Paris, I love the people, I love everything here. It’s very hard to pinpoint exactly which match – there have been many, many great ones through the years, and I’ll try to keep them there in my heart.
