Italian Open: Cirstea Beats Ostapenko, Eyes First Top-20 Breakthrough
Cirstea withdrew from Rouen with a leg injury but has looked dominant in Rome, dropping just one set en route to the last four.
Cirstea plans to retire later this year and is chasing her best ranking since reaching No. 21 in 2013...
Sorana Cirstea showed age hasn’t slowed her down, rolling into the Italian Open semifinals at 36 with a dominant 6-1, 7-6(0) win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The Romanian is making the most of her farewell season.
Cirstea’s run already includes the tournament’s biggest upset, a third-round win over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
One more victory would push her into the top 20 for the first time. Her current career high is No. 21, set back in August 2013.
“I always said there's no expiration date for ambition and dreams,” said Cirstea, the 26th seed in Rome.
“I think everyone can see that I absolutely love this sport. I have so much passion for it. For me to play here and be in the semi-finals in Rome is absolutely amazing.
“I'm so grateful to the sport. I'm just really, really enjoying my week in Rome so far.”
Cirstea d. Ostapenko 6-1 7-6(0)
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 12, 2026
Sorana reaches the Rome semifinals for the first time in her career
That's now 2 Grand Slam champions she's beaten this week, including the world No. 1
✅4th WTA 1000 SF (1st in 2 years)
✅Won 8 of last 10 matches
36 years old in her final… pic.twitter.com/T7Pet4QAwB
Cirstea has been in excellent form on clay this season, with only two losses on the surface. Those came against two-time major champion Coco Gauff in Madrid and Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Linz. She also had to pull out of the Rouen semifinals because of a leg injury.
That sets up a fitting matchup in Rome, where she’ll meet one of those same two players in the semifinals.
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