The 2026 season will be the farewell tour for Sorana Cirstea.
Entering her 20th season on the WTA Tour, Cirstea revealed in an Instagram post that the 2026 season will be her final.
“I love tennis. I love the discipline, the routines, the hard work. The competition and the adrenaline fuel my soul,” Cirstea wrote. “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.”
It’s been a remarkable career for the 35-year-old veteran from Romania, who’s won three singles and six doubles titles. She’s also a two-time Olympian (2008 Beijing and 2012 London).
Turning pro in 2006, she reached her first WTA final in Budapest, Hungary, in 2007. In 2008, she won her first career WTA singles title in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, defeating Sabine Lisicki. By the end of the year, she was ranked No. 36 in singles and was the No. 1 player from her country at just 18 years old.
Cirstea’s breakthrough came at Roland Garros in 2009, where she reached the quarterfinals. En route, Cirstea defeated No. 21 seed Alize Cornet, No. 10 seed Caroline Wozniacki and No. 5 seed Jelena Jankovic.
The quarterfinal finish remains as Cirstea’s best at a Grand Slam, tied with her quarterfinal run at the 2023 US Open, where she defeated Elena Rybakina in one of the biggest wins in her career. Earlier in 2023, she upset then-World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka at the Miami Open quarterfinals, reaching her second career WTA 1000 semifinal.
“When you love something so much, it’s not easy to say ‘goodbye,’ Cirstea added. “For now though this is not a farewell, but a ‘see you one more time.’
“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.”
The Romanian reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 21 in August 2013, and she’s currently ranked No. 43 in the world.
Cirstea recently won her third singles trophy in Cleveland this past August, more than four years after her previous title at the 2021 Istanbul Cup. She also won her sixth doubles title this year in Madrid, alongside Anna Kalinskaya.
“I look forward to seeing all my fans, friends and loved ones next to the court for one last dance around the world,” Cirstea concluded.
“Thank you Tennis, I will forever be indebted to you. See you in 2026 and thank you all for your unconditional support!”