By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, May 31, 2026
Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Major multi-tasker Sorana Cirstea doesn’t spend her spare time reflecting on sequels.
That’s because Cirstea is too busy reimagining red clay as revival ground.
Today, Cirstea conquered qualifier Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach her second Roland Garros semifinal a full 17 years after she first made the last eight in 2009.
“I think back then I was a kid, just started on tour. Didn’t know exactly too much what was happening,” Cirstea said of her 2009 quarterfinal run that ended with a loss to Samantha Stosur. “I was just playing, and I was just at the beginning of my career.
“Of course, now I have so many years behind me. I have so much experience, maturity. I feel I’m a completely different player. It’s just very, very different, you know.
“But in the same time it’s very beautiful. I’m very grateful for everything that’s happening. I’m very happy to see the way I evolved as a player in all these years.”
Playing her final pro season, the 36-year-old Cirstea continues to show staying power on arguably the most demanding surface in the sport.
Prior to this quarterfinal run, Cirstea had just one win in her last three appearances in Paris. In fact, before the tournament began, Cirstea had failed to survive the French Open second round in eight of her last nine appearances in Paris.
A dynamic Cirstea has delivered one of the best dirt seasons of her career.
Empowered by red clay semifinal runs in Rouen and Rome where she toppled world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka along the way, Cirstea has not surrendered a set in Paris and now stands one win away from a maiden major semifinal.
The 18th-seeded Romanian will play wither eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva, the Madrid runner-up and former RG semifinalist, or 170th-ranked Swiss lefty Jil Teichmann for a semifinal spot.
A clean ball striker with shrewd court sense, Cirstea attributes her resurgence to two primary reasons: She’s fully fit and she’s been producing consistently high-quality tennis in every match registering a 29-8 record, including a 14-3 mark on dirt, this season.
Funnily enough, Cirstea credits grass infusing her with the confidence for this red clay rise.
“Again, I’ve had the surgery I think two years ago, and then after I got back from the surgery, slowly after
Wimbledon last year I started to play very, very good,” Cirstea said. “I’m very happy to be able to keep that level every single week.
“I think this is different. It’s probably the first time in my career where I’m able to tap into that level every single match. I’ve said it many times. I was always a very dangerous player. Always I could be top 10, and I could do good results, but maybe sometimes I was a little bit up and down.
“I didn’t really know what to expect from me, which now I think my base level improved, and every time I’m on the court I manage to get to at least a 7 out of 10.”
Given all this great success seems sensible for Cirstea to reconsider retirement, right?
Wrong, says Cirstea. The Romanian said she remains committed to retirement regardless of her results here though she did leave the door slightly open for a potential 2027 return.
“I came into my last year, wanted to go out on the front door of the sport, wanting to really do well, but I didn’t really think it was going to go that well,” Cirstea said. “Also, I’m really enjoying. I think the last couple of years I realized how much I love this sport. I’m also, like I said, working hard, but also having fun. You can see this a little bit.
“Of course, I’m a competitor. I want to win every single match, but in the same time I’m not putting as much pressure. I’m not so hard on myself.
“At the moment the decision hasn’t changed. I haven’t really thought about it. I’m just trying to take it week by week, and I’m not going to do anything different. I’m not going to try now to change things or put any pressure. Of course, we will assess things as we go, but at the moment the decision is the same.”