The Romanian woman wants to make her mark

For her final season!

Cîrstea announced that she’s playing her last season on the WTA tour, and I get the feeling she really wants to make a lasting impression. What a fighter. She rarely shows up just to make up the numbers when it comes to the blue courts. In 2025, that’s a WTA 250 title, two semifinals and three quarterfinals, plus a doubles title at a WTA 1000. In other words: dangerous.

At 35, Sorana still has all the athletic qualities needed to string together three-set matches and she racked up four wins over top-20 players in 2025. So why not a first in 2026 against the Japanese player Osaka? Her flat game is a huge problem for opponents and gives them very little time to set up, all backed by a very solid mindset.

Down against Eva Lys, who’s known for quickly smothering her opponents, Sorana raised her level in the second set, especially on serve with six aces, and was ultra clutch in the key moments, saving 80% of the break points she faced. She gradually pushed Eva into making errors, forcing her to take more risks in the third set, with all the unforced mistakes that implies. Rock solid.

The Japanese player is known for a mindset that can sometimes be fragile, but also for being an outstanding server. She fired 11 aces, but when her serve drops, she often gets attacked on her second serves. Ruzic, an aggressive and solid baseliner, showed that clearly. In the third set at 3–3, it was still a real coin flip. Ruzic’s youth and lack of Grand Slam experience hurt her in the final games against the former world No. 1.

Osaka wasn’t masterful and needed three sets. So this match-up pits two very good servers against each other, two profiles that are fairly similar in pure stats, with, however, an edge for the Romanian, who feasts on second serves by stepping well inside the court. Edge in the mindset department as well for Cîrstea. I can’t wait to see this match; it’s shaping up to be intense.