Sorana Cîrstea
Encyclopedia
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romania
n tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open
and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.
er, and also has solid groundstrokes. Forehand
and backhand
s are delivered with plenty of zip and punch, whipping through the ball quickly on both sides. Cîrstea seems lacking a little when it comes to delivering the final blow: in her third–round defeat to Victoria Azarenka
at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
, for example, she dominated the first set but was unable find the crucial points to wrap things up, and lost in a tie–break. Despite her competence at the net, she often seems to lack the confidence to charge in and take control of the point.
, but currently resides in Târgovişte
. She also has a brother, Mihnea, five years her junior. Cîrstea was introduced to tennis
at age of four by mother, "My mum and dad have always followed tennis and they encouraged me to start playing the sport when I was young. They're the reason I started to play tennis and I guess they are the ones I should thank for getting me into it". She cited Steffi Graf
and Roger Federer
as her idols. Cîrstea speaks Romanian, English and Spanish, and is improving her French. Her good friends on the WTA Tour include Caroline Wozniacki
, Ana Ivanovic
, Sabine Lisicki
, Maria Kirilenko
and Sania Mirza
.
Junior Circuit top-ten player, reaching her highest ranking of number six on June 26, 2006. Her best results include a title in the 2005 German Junior Open (Grade 1) defeating Erika Zanchetta 6–2 6–7 6–3 in the final, a tournament she was finalist the year before and a runner-up place in the 2006 Trofeo Bonfiglio (Grade A) where she lost in the final to her compatriot Ioana Raluca Olaru
after having defeated the then-top ranked world junior player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
in the semifinals. Cîrstea lost in the finals of the doubles tournament at the 2007 French Open
, when she and Alexa Glatch
lost 6–1, 6–4 to the third seeds, Ksenia Milevskaya
and Urszula Radwańska
. She also made final appearances at the year-ending ITF
Grade 1 juniors tournaments Eddie Herr International and Yucatán World Cup in 2005 and 2006, and in the Opus Nottinghill International in 2006.
, a Tier III event held in Budapest
, Hungary, as a qualifier. During the tournament, all of her main draw matches were pushed to three sets. She beat Martina Müller in the second round, Eleni Daniilidou
in the quarter-finals and Karin Knapp
in the semi-finals before losing to Gisela Dulko
in the final and won the first set, when Dulko won her first title by the scoreline of 6–7², 6–2, 6–2. By making it to the final, she became the first Romania
n player to reach a Tour final since Ruxandra Dragomir
in June 2000. During her run, she beat two players ranked inside the WTA
top 40.
In 2008 in Tashkent, she won her first WTA tour title. She defeated Sabine Lisicki
in the final.
at the Medibank International in Sydney 2–6 1–6. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Vera Dushevina
and reached the second round, defeating Kuznetsova/Petrova 6–2 3–6 10–6 and losing to Black/Huber 4–6 6–2 6–10. At the Australian Open
, she lost in the first round of the singles tournament to Melinda Czink
2–6 2–6, but reached the second round of the doubles tournament with partner Monica Niculescu
, defeating Ditty/Gullickson 6–3 2–6 6–3 and losing to Dechy/Santangelo 2–6 2–6.
As a singles player, Cîrstea lost in the first rounds of the 2009 Open GDF Suez
and Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, to Natalie Dechy and Dominika Cibulková
respectively. In doubles, she again partnered with Monica Niculescu
for the Open GDF Suez, reaching the semifinals of the tournament before injury forced them to lose in a walkover to Peschke/Raymond. In Dubai, she partnered with Arina Rodionova
and lost in the first round to Kirilenko/Radwańska 5–7 4–6.
Cîrstea received a bye in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells, but lost in the second round to Elena Vesnina
5–7 6–2 6–3. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Galina Voskoboeva
, lost in the first round 2–6 2–6 to Matthek-Sands/Washington. Cîrstea finished her hardcourt season with a loss in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami to qualifier Mariya Koryttseva, 2–6 1–6. Her doubles effort in Miami with Caroline Wozniacki
also ended in the first round with a loss to Kuznetsova/Mauresmo, 4–6 6–4 10–8.
Cîrstea's clay season began at the inaugural Andalucia Tennis Experience
in Marbella, Spain. She reached the semifinals, defeating Ioana Olaru 6–4 6–2, Andreja Klepač 4–6 6–1 6–1, and Kaia Kanepi
6–4 2–6 7–5 before losing to Carla Suárez Navarro
6–2 6–7(5) 6–2. In doubles, she partnered with Ioana Olaru and reached the quarterfinals before losing to Hercog/Ulirova 6–1 6–0.
At the Barcelona Ladies Open in April, Cîrstea lost in the first round of the singles tournament to Anastasiya Yakimova
7–6(2) 7–6(5), but reached the finals of the doubles tournament with her partner Andreja Klepač
. They defeated Groenefeld/Senoglu, Ani/Voráčová and Hlaváčková/Hradecká before falling to Vives/Sanchez in the final 3–6 6–2 10–8. A week later, at the Fes
tournament, Cîrstea again lost in the first round of the singles tournament, this time to Lourdes Domínguez Lino
6–3 6–4, and again reached the finals of the doubles tournament, this time with Maria Kirilenko
. Cîrstea/Kirilenko defeated Fernandez-Brugues/Thorpe, Czink/Keothavong, and Hercog/Olaru before losing to Kleybanova/Makarova 6–3 2–6 10–8.
In May at the Estoril Open
in Portugal, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals of the singles tournament, defeating Kimiko Date Krumm and Maret Ani
before falling to eventual champion Yanina Wickmayer
6–4 1–6 6–4. In doubles, she again partnered with Maria Kirilenko, defeating Ivanova/Yakimova before losing to Coin/Pelletier in the quarterfinals, 6–3 1–6 10–7. At the Madrid tournament, she lost in the first rounds of both the singles and doubles tournaments, falling to Alona Bondarenko 6–2 6–2 in the singles and partnering with Vladimíra Uhlířová in the doubles to lose to Makarova/Kudrayvtseva 2–6 7–6(2) 10–3.
Cîrstea then had her breakthrough tournament at the 2009 French Open
. She began her campaign with wins over Carly Gullickson
and an upset of the #21 seed Alizé Cornet
. Having advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, she defeated doubles partner Caroline Wozniacki
, the #10 seed 7–6, 7–5. Cîrstea continued her unlikely run with a 3–6, 6–0, 9–7 upset over the #5 seeded Jelena Janković
to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she faced #30 seed Samantha Stosur
, losing 6–1, 6–3. Her doubles effort with Wozniacki ended in the first round with a 4–6 4–6 loss to Pennetta/Kirilenko.
At the Ordina Open
in the Netherlands, she defeated Monica Niculescu in the first round 5–7 6–3 6–3, but lost in second round to Yanina Wickmayer
4–6, 3–6. She paired with Dinara Safina
for the doubles tournament, defeating Groenefeld/Niculescu in the first round and losing to Errani/Pennetta in the second round 7–6(4) 6–1. At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
, Cîrstea was seeded 28th. She defeated Edina Gallovits
and Sania Mirza
in the first two rounds but lost 6–7, 3–6 to #8 Victoria Azarenka
in the third round. In doubles, she again partnered with Wozniacki to lose in the second round to Koryttseva/Poutchek 4–6 7–6(8) 6–4.
After Wimbledon, Cîrstea entered the Swedish Open
in Båstad, defeating qualifier Johanna Larsson in the first round before losing to Gisela Dulko
in the second, 6–3 4–6 7–6(5). She partnered with Wozniacki yet again, losing in the second round to Kondratieva/Lefevre 4–6 6–4 10–8. Two weeks later, Cîrstea lost in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic
to Agnieszka Radwańska
6–0 6–1. Her doubles effort with Maria Kirilenko reached the semifinals of the tournament, defeating Granville/Gullickson and Coin/Pelletier before losing to Chan/Niculescu 3–6 6–3 10–8.
Cîrstea had another improbable run at the LA Women's Championships
in August, a warm-up to the US Open. Enroute to the semifinals, she upset No. 4 seed Wozniacki, again her doubles partner for the tournament, 1–6, 6–4, 7–6 and Radwańska 7–6(4), 1–6, 7–5, despite Radwańska serving for the match at 4–5 in the third set. In the semifinals, Cîrstea lost to Samantha Stosur
3–6, 2–6. Cîrstea/Wozniacki lost in the first round to Chang/Yan 1–6 6–4 10–5. Her performance at LA earned her the No.24 ranking going into the Cincinnati Masters, where she defeated Meghann Shaughnessy
and Anna-Lena Grönefeld
before losing to 4th seed Elena Dementieva
6–4 6–4. After Cincinnati on August 17, she achieved her career high ranking, No.23.
At the 2009 US Open
, Cîrstea was seeded 24th. She defeated Ayumi Morita
in the 1st round 6–1 6–3 and Stéphanie Dubois
of Canada in the 2nd round 6–4 5–7 6–4 before losing 3–6 2–6 in the third round to eventual finalist Caroline Wozniacki
, the no. 9 seed and her doubles partner. Cîrstea/Wozniacki defeated Bammer/Schruff and Azarenka/Zvonareva before losing 4–6 2–6 in the third round to eventual champions Williams/Williams.
After the US Open, Cîrstea lost her next five matches, posting first-round losses in the Hansol Korea Open, Toray Pan Pacific Open
, China Open
, Generali Ladies
and Kremlin Cup
. She finished 2009 ranked 43rd in the world with a 21–24 match record.
in early January, she played on behalf of Romania
with Victor Hănescu
. Romania was seeded sixth and finished last in their group, winning against the Australian team of Samantha Stosur
and Lleyton Hewitt
, but losing to the Spanish team of María José Martínez Sánchez
and Tommy Robredo
, the eventual champions, and the American team of Melanie Oudin
and John Isner
. Cîrstea posted a 3–6 6–4 6–3 win over Stosur and, with Hanescu, a 7–5 6–1 win over Stosur and Hewitt to win the Australian match. She lost in straight sets to Sanchez and Oudin.
Leading up to the Australian Open, she lost in the first round of the Hobart tournament
to Shuai Peng 1–6 4–6. At the Australian Open in January, she defeated Olivia Rogowska
in the first round 6–3 2–6 6–2, but lost in the second round to Alisa Kleybanova
4–6 3–6. She partnered with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
in the doubles tournament, losing to Kirilenko/Radwańska in the first round 6–0 6–7 (4) 6–2.
Her next tournament was the Open GDF Suez
in Paris, where she fell to Melanie Oudin
3–6 0–6. She lost in straight sets in the first rounds of the Dubai, Acapulco
, and Monterrey tournaments, to Francesca Schiavone
, Sharon Fichman
, and Sara Errani
, respectively.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells, California
, she reached the second round, first defeating Kaia Kanepi
6–7(1) 6–3 6–4, but ultimately losing to Jie Zheng 3–6 5–7. In Miami two weeks later at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
, Cîrstea defeated Michelle Larcher de Brito
in a two-set thriller 7–5 7–6(9) before losing in the second round to 3rd seed Venus Williams
6–4, 6–3.
Moving into the clay season, Cîrstea prevailed over 6th seed Maria Kirilenko
in the first round of the 2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience
4–6 7–6(2) 6–4. She then lost in the second round to fellow Romanian Simona Halep
4–6 6–7. At the 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open
she defeated Tamira Paszek
6–4, 7–6(6), but lost in the second round to Iveta Benešová
1–6, 4–6.
Cîrstea was seeded 2nd at the 2010 Estoril Open
and defeated compatriat Ioana Raluca Olaru
6–3, 3–6, 6–1 in the first round and Michelle Larcher de Brito
7–5, 7–5 in the second. In the quarterfinals, she beat Arantxa Rus
6–4, 6–1, but fell to Arantxa Parra Santonja
, 6–1, 6–4 in the semifinals. In doubles, she partnered with Anabel Medina Garrigues
to win the tournament, receiving a bye in the first round and posting wins over Peng/Zhang, Manasieva/Olaru and Diatchenko/Vedy.
Cîrstea lost to Flavia Pennetta
1–6 6–1 1–6 in the first round of the Madrid tournament in May. Two weeks later, she qualified for the Strasbourg
tournament, losing to Elena Baltacha
3–6 5–7 in the first round. At the 2010 French Open, she lost in the first round to defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova
3–6 1–6.
At the 2010 AEGON International
she defeated seed 2 Francesca Schiavone
losing in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova
with the score 4–6 7–6(6) 7–6(4).
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
she was defeated by defending semifinalist Petra Kvitová
with the score 2–6, 2–6.
At the 2010 GDF SUEZ Grand Prix
she lost in the first round to a qualifing player Zuzana Ondrášková
with the score 4–6, 2–6.
She lost in the quarterfinal at tne turnaments 2010 İstanbul Cup
to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
and 2010 e-Boks Danish Open
to Klára Zakopalová.
At the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
were she qualifing to tournament she lost in the first round to Sybille Bammer
with the score 6–7, 2–6.
of Croatia 6–4, 6–2 before she was beaten by Shahar Peer of Israel in the second round 6–3, 6–2. In the doubles tournament, she played with Lucie Šafářová
of the Czech Republic and defeated the team of Sarah Borwell
of Germany and Marie-Eve Pelletier
of Canada 5–7, 6–2, 6–2. In the second round they lost to Cara Black
of Zimbabwe and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6–4, 7–5.
In the 2011, Cellular South Cup, Sorana defeated Catherine Harrison (USA) in the first round 6–4, 6–2, before she lost to Shahar Peer (ISR) 3–6, 2–6 in the second round. In doubles she and her partner Anastasia Pivovarova
(RUS) lost in the first round to Andrea Hlaváčková
(CZE)/Lucie Hradecká
(CZE) 6–3, 6–2.
At 2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
, Sorana defeated Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (AUT) 6–2, 6–4. In the second round she lost to Laura Pous-Tio (ESP) 6–2, 6–1. Sorana played doubles again now with Andreja Klepač
(SLO) as a partner. They won the first round by defeated Eleni Daniilidou
(GRE)/Jasmin Woehr (GER) 6–2, 6–0. They lost in the second round to Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)/Alexandra Panova
(RUS) 6–4, 3–6, 10–7.
Cirstea qualified in singles for the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
. In the first round she lost 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 to Alla Kudryavtseva
(RUS).
In the Sony Ericsson Open, Sorana received a wildcard in singles, but lost 3–6, 6–1, 7–6(2) in the first round to Jie Zheng of China.
At the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
, she lost in the first round 1–6, 6–4, 6–2 to Italian Sara Errani
. Sorana paired with Maria Elena Camerin
of Italy for the doubles tournament defeating Alberta Brianti
(ITA)/Aurelie Vedy
(FRA) 6–4, 6–1. They lost in the second round to Sara Errani
(ITA)/Roberta Vinci
(ITA) 6–4, 6–7 (4), 10–7.
In the next months Sorana didn't have good results. But she proved she is back in the form as she won 2011 Open GDF SUEZ de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes
in France.It was a 100.000$+ tournament with lot of top 100 players.
She beat Patty Schnyder
in the first round and compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru
in the second in the 2011 French Open
before losing 6–2 6–2 to China's Li Na
.
She then made it into the main draw of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships
, where she lost in straight sets to Pauline Parmentier
. Sorana played doubles again with Ayumi Morita
of Japan defeating Chia-Jung Chuang (JPE)/Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) 6-4, 6-4. They won their second round 7-5, 6-3 against Sophie Lefevre
(FRA)/ Eugeniya Rodina (RUS). They lost in third round to Sabine Lisicki
(GER)/ Samantha Stosur
(AUS) 4-6, 3-6.
In Bastad, Sweden at the Collector Swedish Open Women Sorana defeated Mirjana Lucic
(CRO) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round. She lost 3-6, 3-6 in the second round to Vesna Dolonts (RUS).
In Palermo, Italy at the XXIV SNAI Open Internationali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo Sorana won her first round match against Andrea Hlavackova
(CZE) 6-3, 6-2. She lost in second round to Tsvetana Pironkova
(BUL) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Now in home at Bucharest ITF of Romania, Sorana beat her compatriots Diana Enache
6-3, 6-4 in first round and Madalina Gojnea
6-1, 6-3 in second round. She lost in third round to Laura Pous-Tio (ESP) 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4.
After that hard lost in her country, she played in Carlsbad, California at the Mercury Insurance Open. She was beat by Coco Vandeweghe
of the United States in the first round 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3. Next tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio Western & Southern Open Sorana qualified in singles for the main draw. In the first round she defeated Ksenia Pervak
6-4, 3-6, 6-3, but lost in the second to Jill Craybas
(USA) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (3).
In Dallas, the inaugural tournament of Texas Tennis Open
, Sorana beat Jarmila Gajdosova
(AUS) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. In the second round she lost to Aravane Rezai
(FRA) 6-2, 7-6 (4). Sorana played doubles for the first time with Alberta Brianti
of Italy. In the first round they defeated Kateryna Bondarenko
(UKR)/Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 6-3, 3-6, 11-9. In the second they beat Andreja Klepac
(SLO)/Tatiana Poutchek
(BLR) 7-6 (2), 6-7 (0), 12-10. In the third or semi-final match they beat Sofia Arvidsson
(SWE)/Casey Dellacqua
(AUS) 6-3, 6-3. They won their final match and the title by defeating Alize Cornet
(FRA)/Pauline Parmentier
(FRA) 7-5, 6-3. Sorana won her fourth WTA doubles title. Brianti won her second.
At the US Open, Sorana lost in the first round to Yanina Wickmayer
of Belgium 6-1, 7-5. Sorana paired with Ayumi Morita
of Japan in doubles. They defeated Casey Dellaqua (AUS)/Rennae Stubbs
(AUS) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round. They lost in the second round to Maria Jose Sanchez (ESP)/Anabel Medina Garrigues
(ESP) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
In Uzkebistan, the Tashkent Open
Sorana have good results. She won her first round match by defeating Bojana Jovanovski
(SRB) 6-3, 6-1. Sorana in the second round beat Aleksandra Krunic
of Serbia 6-3, 6-4, but lost in the third set 6-7 (5), 4-6 to Alla Kudryavtseva
(RUS). Sorana played doubles too with Pauline Parmentier
(FRA), but they lost in the first round to Iryna Bremond (FRA)/Mandy Minella
(LUX) 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.
At Saint Malo, France in 16' Open GDF SUEZ de Bretagne, Sorana played great tennis. Usually she is getting better results playing on clay surfaces. Sorana defeated Estrella Cabeza Candela
(ESP) 6-7 (4), 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. In the second she beat Eva Fernandez-Brugues
(ESP) 6-4, 6-3. In quarterfinals, Sorana won by beating Laura Pous-Tio (ESP) 6-3, 6-1. She defeated Stefanie Voegele
(SUI) 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinal match. It was an interesting and close match. Voegele served for the match twice and was two points away from defeating Cirstea. Lucky Sorana have her father cheering for her during that match. Sorana won the title by defeating Silvia Soler Espinosa
(ESP) 6-2, 6-2.
In Generali Ladies Linz
, Asustria, Sorana played in the qualifiying draw with great victories. In round of 32 or first round, Sorana beat Nikola Hofmanova
(AUT) 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-0. In round of 16 or second round, she beat Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. In quarters or third round, Sorana defeated Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 6-1, 6-2 to play in the main singles draw. In the first round, Sorana beat Tamira Paszek
(AUT) 7-5, 6-3. She defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
(RUS) the 4th seed of the tournament 4-6, 6-0,6-4 in second round. But lost in third round to Lucie Safarova
(CZE) 5-7, 2-6.
Sorana next tournament was an ITF tournament in France, Open GDF SUEZ Region Limousin. A tournament of 50,000$+ Limoges with top 100 players. In round of 32 or first round Sorana defeated Paula Ormachea (ARG) 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3. In round of 16 or second round, She beat Stefanie Voegele
(SUI) 7-5, 6-3. In quarterfinals, Sorana defeated Michaella Krajicek
(NED) 6-3, 7-6 (2). During semifinals Sorana beat Akgul Amanmuradova
(UZB) 7-5, 6-1. In the final, She defeated Sofia Arvidsson
(SWE) 6-2, 6-3. According to Sorana own words this match was the best she played in the tournament. Also she wrote this on her facebook page: "Its funny how tennis works when u think about it.From being match point down in my 1st round match here i am winning the tournament!!!!Well a bit similar to life :)" - Sorana Cirstea. Another great tournament for Cirstea, her third title on French territory in 2011.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.
Playing style
Cîrstea has a neat, controlled style that minimises mistakes. According to the Tennis Spy, she does not appear to be fast around the court, but actually is deceptively quick covering the ground with her long strides and good reading of the game. As a good doubles player, she is also a very solid volleyVolley (tennis)
A volley in tennis is a shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground. Generally a player hits a volley while standing near the net, although it can be executed farther back, in the middle of the tennis court or even near the baseline....
er, and also has solid groundstrokes. Forehand
Forehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...
and backhand
Backhand
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
s are delivered with plenty of zip and punch, whipping through the ball quickly on both sides. Cîrstea seems lacking a little when it comes to delivering the final blow: in her third–round defeat to Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, for example, she dominated the first set but was unable find the crucial points to wrap things up, and lost in a tie–break. Despite her competence at the net, she often seems to lack the confidence to charge in and take control of the point.
Early and personal life
Cîrstea was born to Mihai and Liliana in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, but currently resides in Târgovişte
Târgoviste
Târgoviște is a city in the Dâmbovița county of Romania. It is situated on the right bank of the Ialomiţa River. , it had an estimated population of 89,000. One village, Priseaca, is administered by the city.-Name:...
. She also has a brother, Mihnea, five years her junior. Cîrstea was introduced to tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
at age of four by mother, "My mum and dad have always followed tennis and they encouraged me to start playing the sport when I was young. They're the reason I started to play tennis and I guess they are the ones I should thank for getting me into it". She cited Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
and Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
as her idols. Cîrstea speaks Romanian, English and Spanish, and is improving her French. Her good friends on the WTA Tour include Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
, Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
, Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
and Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is a professional Indian tennis player. She began her tennis career in 2003 and is well known for her powerful forehand ground strokes. She is the first ever Indian to break into the top 30 WTA rankings...
.
2005–2006
She is a former ITFInternational Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
Junior Circuit top-ten player, reaching her highest ranking of number six on June 26, 2006. Her best results include a title in the 2005 German Junior Open (Grade 1) defeating Erika Zanchetta 6–2 6–7 6–3 in the final, a tournament she was finalist the year before and a runner-up place in the 2006 Trofeo Bonfiglio (Grade A) where she lost in the final to her compatriot Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru is a Romanian tennis player. As of 2 August 2010, she is ranked World No. 158 in singles and No. 104 in doubles. The winner of nine singles and six doubles ITF Circuit titles, Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies, losing to Andrea Petkovic 6–2, 6–3...
after having defeated the then-top ranked world junior player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
in the semifinals. Cîrstea lost in the finals of the doubles tournament at the 2007 French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
, when she and Alexa Glatch
Alexa Glatch
-Junior career:She started playing tennis at the age of five. As a junior player, she won the prestigious Easter Bowl title in the Girls 14s and Girls 18s divisions and the Orange Bowl in the Girls 16s division in 2004. She achieved a World Junior Ranking of #5 in 2005, advancing to the 2005 US...
lost 6–1, 6–4 to the third seeds, Ksenia Milevskaya
Ksenia Milevskaya
Ksenia Milevskaya is a professional tennis player from Belarus. On June 9, 2007, Milevskaya and Urszula Radwańska won the 2007 French Open - Girls' Doubles title, beating Sorana Cîrstea and Alexa Glatch 6–1, 6–4 in the final, and on September 8, 2007 they continued their unbeaten match streak as a...
and Urszula Radwańska
Urszula Radwanska
Urszula Radwańska is a Polish tennis player and a younger sister of Agnieszka Radwańska. She reached her career high ranking of World No. 62 on 10 August 2009.-Tennis career:...
. She also made final appearances at the year-ending ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
Grade 1 juniors tournaments Eddie Herr International and Yucatán World Cup in 2005 and 2006, and in the Opus Nottinghill International in 2006.
2007–2008
In April 2007, she reached the final of the Budapest Grand PrixBudapest Grand Prix
The Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix, formerly Gaz de France Grand Prix, Budapest Grand Prix and GDF SUEZ Grand Prix, is a tennis tournament held in Budapest, Hungary. Held since 1993, this WTA Tour event is an International-level tournament and is played on outdoor clay...
, a Tier III event held in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary, as a qualifier. During the tournament, all of her main draw matches were pushed to three sets. She beat Martina Müller in the second round, Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou is a Greek tennis player born in Chania, on the island of Crete.As of 2011, she has won five WTA singles titles and three doubles titles. In 2003, she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final. Her highest singles ranking has been 14th...
in the quarter-finals and Karin Knapp
Karin Knapp
Karin Knapp is an Italian female tennis player. She was ranked World No. 35 on 25 February 2008.-Career:...
in the semi-finals before losing to Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
in the final and won the first set, when Dulko won her first title by the scoreline of 6–7², 6–2, 6–2. By making it to the final, she became the first Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n player to reach a Tour final since Ruxandra Dragomir
Ruxandra Dragomir
Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie is a retired female tennis player from Romania, who won four singles and five doubles titles during her career. The right-hander reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA Tour on August 25, 1997, when she became the number 15 of the world...
in June 2000. During her run, she beat two players ranked inside the WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
top 40.
In 2008 in Tashkent, she won her first WTA tour title. She defeated Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
in the final.
2009
Cîrstea began the year ranked 36th, losing to Dinara SafinaDinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
at the Medibank International in Sydney 2–6 1–6. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Vera Dushevina
Vera Dushevina
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian professional female tennis player. She was born in Moscow but now resides in Khimki, Russia. In 2006, she privately amended the presentation of her surname so as to be more English language friendly, adopting Dushevina in place of Douchevina which is a...
and reached the second round, defeating Kuznetsova/Petrova 6–2 3–6 10–6 and losing to Black/Huber 4–6 6–2 6–10. At the Australian Open
2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ...
, she lost in the first round of the singles tournament to Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink is a Hungarian professional female tennis player. On September 21, 2009 Czink reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 37....
2–6 2–6, but reached the second round of the doubles tournament with partner Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
, defeating Ditty/Gullickson 6–3 2–6 6–3 and losing to Dechy/Santangelo 2–6 2–6.
As a singles player, Cîrstea lost in the first rounds of the 2009 Open GDF Suez
2009 Open GDF Suez
The 2009 Open GDF Suez was a women's professional tennis tournament played on indoor hardcourts. It was the 17th edition of the Open GDF Suez and was a Premier tournament on the 2009 WTA Tour...
and Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, to Natalie Dechy and Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
respectively. In doubles, she again partnered with Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
for the Open GDF Suez, reaching the semifinals of the tournament before injury forced them to lose in a walkover to Peschke/Raymond. In Dubai, she partnered with Arina Rodionova
Arina Rodionova
Arina Rodionova is a Russian tennis player. The sister of Russian-born Australian tennis player Anastasia Rodionova, she won 2007 Australian Open in girls' doubles, partnering with Evgeniya Rodina. In 2010, Rodionova reached her first WTA Tour doubles final partnering with her sister, at 2010...
and lost in the first round to Kirilenko/Radwańska 5–7 4–6.
Cîrstea received a bye in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open
2009 BNP Paribas Open - Women's Singles
Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but lost to Vera Zvonareva in the final.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Dinara Safina # Jelena Janković # Elena Dementieva ...
in Indian Wells, but lost in the second round to Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
5–7 6–2 6–3. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Olegovna Voskoboeva is a professional Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. She reached her career-high singles rank of World No. 56 on October 10, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 31st, set at January 29, 2007.-Early life:...
, lost in the first round 2–6 2–6 to Matthek-Sands/Washington. Cîrstea finished her hardcourt season with a loss in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open
2009 Sony Ericsson Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 6–1.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Serena Williams # Dinara Safina # Jelena Janković ...
in Miami to qualifier Mariya Koryttseva, 2–6 1–6. Her doubles effort in Miami with Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
also ended in the first round with a loss to Kuznetsova/Mauresmo, 4–6 6–4 10–8.
Cîrstea's clay season began at the inaugural Andalucia Tennis Experience
2009 Andalucia Tennis Experience
The 2009 Andalucia Tennis Experience was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 1st edition of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, and was an International-level tournament of the 2009 WTA Tour. The event is took place at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain, from...
in Marbella, Spain. She reached the semifinals, defeating Ioana Olaru 6–4 6–2, Andreja Klepač 4–6 6–1 6–1, and Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi is an Estonian professional tennis player. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011....
6–4 2–6 7–5 before losing to Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...
6–2 6–7(5) 6–2. In doubles, she partnered with Ioana Olaru and reached the quarterfinals before losing to Hercog/Ulirova 6–1 6–0.
At the Barcelona Ladies Open in April, Cîrstea lost in the first round of the singles tournament to Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova is a female tennis player from Belarus. She made it to the third round of the 2007 Australian Open, defeating Ai Sugiyama of Japan, a seeded player, on the way in the second round.-2009:...
7–6(2) 7–6(5), but reached the finals of the doubles tournament with her partner Andreja Klepač
Andreja Klepac
Andreja Klepač is a professional Slovenian tennis player. While she has not won a WTA title of any kind, she has won 3 ITF singles titles and 11 ITF doubles titles, and made one WTA Tour singles final and two WTA Tour doubles final. Klepač reached her career-high singles ranking on July 14, 2008,...
. They defeated Groenefeld/Senoglu, Ani/Voráčová and Hlaváčková/Hradecká before falling to Vives/Sanchez in the final 3–6 6–2 10–8. A week later, at the Fes
Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
The Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem is a women's professional tennis tournament held in Fes, Morocco. This WTA Tour event is classified as an International tournament and is played on outdoor clay courts. It is the only WTA tournament held in Africa....
tournament, Cîrstea again lost in the first round of the singles tournament, this time to Lourdes Domínguez Lino
Lourdes Dominguez Lino
Lourdes Domínguez Lino is a Spanish professional female tennis player. On 11 September 2006 Domínguez Lino reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
6–3 6–4, and again reached the finals of the doubles tournament, this time with Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
. Cîrstea/Kirilenko defeated Fernandez-Brugues/Thorpe, Czink/Keothavong, and Hercog/Olaru before losing to Kleybanova/Makarova 6–3 2–6 10–8.
In May at the Estoril Open
2009 Estoril Open
The 2009 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 20th edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2009 ATP World Tour, and of the International-level tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Portugal, Cîrstea reached the quarterfinals of the singles tournament, defeating Kimiko Date Krumm and Maret Ani
Maret Ani
Maret Ani is an Estonian tennis player. At the start of 2006, she was the top-ranked player in Estonia, before losing that spot to Kaia Kanepi....
before falling to eventual champion Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
6–4 1–6 6–4. In doubles, she again partnered with Maria Kirilenko, defeating Ivanova/Yakimova before losing to Coin/Pelletier in the quarterfinals, 6–3 1–6 10–7. At the Madrid tournament, she lost in the first rounds of both the singles and doubles tournaments, falling to Alona Bondarenko 6–2 6–2 in the singles and partnering with Vladimíra Uhlířová in the doubles to lose to Makarova/Kudrayvtseva 2–6 7–6(2) 10–3.
Cîrstea then had her breakthrough tournament at the 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
. She began her campaign with wins over Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is No. 123, which she reached on July 20, 2009. Her career high doubles ranking is No. 52, set at April 3, 2006. She is the daughter of former major league baseball player Bill Gullickson, and the...
and an upset of the #21 seed Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
. Having advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, she defeated doubles partner Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, the #10 seed 7–6, 7–5. Cîrstea continued her unlikely run with a 3–6, 6–0, 9–7 upset over the #5 seeded Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she faced #30 seed Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
, losing 6–1, 6–3. Her doubles effort with Wozniacki ended in the first round with a 4–6 4–6 loss to Pennetta/Kirilenko.
At the Ordina Open
2009 Ordina Open
The 2009 Ordina Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It is the 20th edition of the Ordina Open, and is part of the International Series of the 2009 ATP Tour, and of the WTA International tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in the Netherlands, she defeated Monica Niculescu in the first round 5–7 6–3 6–3, but lost in second round to Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
4–6, 3–6. She paired with Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
for the doubles tournament, defeating Groenefeld/Niculescu in the first round and losing to Errani/Pennetta in the second round 7–6(4) 6–1. At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, Cîrstea was seeded 28th. She defeated Edina Gallovits
Edina Gallovits
Klaudia Edina Gallovits-Hall is a Romanian female tennis player of Hungarian descent on her father's side. She is currently ranked 75th in the world and her career highest ranking of No. 54 was achieved on April 28, 2008...
and Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is a professional Indian tennis player. She began her tennis career in 2003 and is well known for her powerful forehand ground strokes. She is the first ever Indian to break into the top 30 WTA rankings...
in the first two rounds but lost 6–7, 3–6 to #8 Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
in the third round. In doubles, she again partnered with Wozniacki to lose in the second round to Koryttseva/Poutchek 4–6 7–6(8) 6–4.
After Wimbledon, Cîrstea entered the Swedish Open
2009 Swedish Open - Women's Singles
-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Dominika Cibulková # Flavia Pennetta # Kaia Kanepi Sorana Cîrstea Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ...
in Båstad, defeating qualifier Johanna Larsson in the first round before losing to Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
in the second, 6–3 4–6 7–6(5). She partnered with Wozniacki yet again, losing in the second round to Kondratieva/Lefevre 4–6 6–4 10–8. Two weeks later, Cîrstea lost in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic
2009 Bank of the West Classic - Singles
Aleksandra Wozniak was the defending champion, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the first round.Marion Bartoli won in the final 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 against Venus Williams.-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Venus Williams ...
to Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
6–0 6–1. Her doubles effort with Maria Kirilenko reached the semifinals of the tournament, defeating Granville/Gullickson and Coin/Pelletier before losing to Chan/Niculescu 3–6 6–3 10–8.
Cîrstea had another improbable run at the LA Women's Championships
2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships
The 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 36th edition of the LA Women's Tennis Championships, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in August, a warm-up to the US Open. Enroute to the semifinals, she upset No. 4 seed Wozniacki, again her doubles partner for the tournament, 1–6, 6–4, 7–6 and Radwańska 7–6(4), 1–6, 7–5, despite Radwańska serving for the match at 4–5 in the third set. In the semifinals, Cîrstea lost to Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
3–6, 2–6. Cîrstea/Wozniacki lost in the first round to Chang/Yan 1–6 6–4 10–5. Her performance at LA earned her the No.24 ranking going into the Cincinnati Masters, where she defeated Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of #11 in 2001, and has won six WTA Tour singles titles...
and Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld is a professional tennis player from Germany. She turned professional in April 2003.As of September 2011, Grönefeld is the No. 12 tennis player from Germany. She was coached and trained by Rafael Font de Mora in Scottsdale, Arizona until 2006...
before losing to 4th seed Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
6–4 6–4. After Cincinnati on August 17, she achieved her career high ranking, No.23.
At the 2009 US Open
2009 US Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters.Clijsters won in the final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki to win her 2nd US Open title...
, Cîrstea was seeded 24th. She defeated Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...
in the 1st round 6–1 6–3 and Stéphanie Dubois
Stéphanie Dubois
Stéphanie Dubois is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in 2004 and she achieved a career-best ranking of No. 95 in the world on May 26, 2008.-2004–present:...
of Canada in the 2nd round 6–4 5–7 6–4 before losing 3–6 2–6 in the third round to eventual finalist Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, the no. 9 seed and her doubles partner. Cîrstea/Wozniacki defeated Bammer/Schruff and Azarenka/Zvonareva before losing 4–6 2–6 in the third round to eventual champions Williams/Williams.
After the US Open, Cîrstea lost her next five matches, posting first-round losses in the Hansol Korea Open, Toray Pan Pacific Open
Toray Pan Pacific Open
The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event...
, China Open
China Open (tennis)
The China Open is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Beijing, China. The men's singles and doubles events were first held in 1993, the year in which the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships were also introduced to the men's tour, as the ATP opened a series of new tournaments in...
, Generali Ladies
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
and Kremlin Cup
Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and is a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour...
. She finished 2009 ranked 43rd in the world with a 21–24 match record.
2010
Cîrstea began 2010 ranked 45th in the world. In the 2010 Hopman Cup2010 Hopman Cup
-Spain vs. United States:-Australia vs. United States:-Spain vs. Romania:*Pat Cash joined Cîrstea to take on the Spainsh duo in the doubles over a Pro Set. The Spanish pair won 8–4.-Spain vs. Australia:-Romania vs. United States:-Standings:...
in early January, she played on behalf of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
with Victor Hănescu
Victor Hanescu
Victor Hănescu is a Romanian tennis player. He achieved his career high rank of no. 26 on July 6, 2009.- Professional career :...
. Romania was seeded sixth and finished last in their group, winning against the Australian team of Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
and Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
, but losing to the Spanish team of María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
and Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
, the eventual champions, and the American team of Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 31, which she achieved on April 19, 2010...
and John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
. Cîrstea posted a 3–6 6–4 6–3 win over Stosur and, with Hanescu, a 7–5 6–1 win over Stosur and Hewitt to win the Australian match. She lost in straight sets to Sanchez and Oudin.
Leading up to the Australian Open, she lost in the first round of the Hobart tournament
2010 Moorilla Hobart International
The 2010 Moorilla Hobart International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the event and is part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
to Shuai Peng 1–6 4–6. At the Australian Open in January, she defeated Olivia Rogowska
Olivia Rogowska
Olivia Rogowska is an Australian tennis player. The right-hander was born in and lives in Melbourne, Australia. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 138, which she reached on 7 December 2009. Her career high in doubles is 170, which she reached on 20 September 2010...
in the first round 6–3 2–6 6–2, but lost in the second round to Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
4–6 3–6. She partnered with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
in the doubles tournament, losing to Kirilenko/Radwańska in the first round 6–0 6–7 (4) 6–2.
Her next tournament was the Open GDF Suez
2010 Open GDF Suez
The 2010 Open GDF Suez was a women's professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the Open GDF Suez and was a Premier tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Paris, where she fell to Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 31, which she achieved on April 19, 2010...
3–6 0–6. She lost in straight sets in the first rounds of the Dubai, Acapulco
2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 17th edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, and was part of the 500 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and was in the International category of tournaments on the 2010 WTA Tour...
, and Monterrey tournaments, to Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, Sharon Fichman
Sharon Fichman
Sharon Fichman is a Canadian professional tennis player. Fichman was ranked No. 5 on the junior circuit in December 2006. Since turning pro, so far her career highs are No. 114 in singles and No. 83 in doubles. Fichman is currently Canada's highest-ranked women's doubles player.-Early life:Fichman...
, and Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
, respectively.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, she reached the second round, first defeating Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi is an Estonian professional tennis player. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011....
6–7(1) 6–3 6–4, but ultimately losing to Jie Zheng 3–6 5–7. In Miami two weeks later at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
, Cîrstea defeated Michelle Larcher de Brito
Michelle Larcher de Brito
Michelle Caroline Larcher de Brito, born Micaela Carolina Larcher de Brito, also known as Michelle Larcher de Brito or Michelle Brito is a Portuguese tennis player. Larcher de Brito's family moved to the United States when she was nine years old so she could attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis...
in a two-set thriller 7–5 7–6(9) before losing in the second round to 3rd seed Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
6–4, 6–3.
Moving into the clay season, Cîrstea prevailed over 6th seed Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
in the first round of the 2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience
2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience
The 2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 2nd edition of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, and an International-level tournament of the 2010 WTA Tour...
4–6 7–6(2) 6–4. She then lost in the second round to fellow Romanian Simona Halep
Simona Halep
Simona Halep is a world top-50 tennis player playing on the ITF Women's Circuit and the WTA Tour, and is currently the number-two ranked women's tennis player in Romania.-Career:...
4–6 6–7. At the 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open
2010 Barcelona Ladies Open
The 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 4th edition of the Barcelona Ladies Open, and an International-level tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour...
she defeated Tamira Paszek
Tamira Paszek
Tamira Shelah Paszek is a professional tennis player from Austria. As of July 4, 2011, she is the no.1 ranked tennis player from Austria in the WTA ranking, at No. 41....
6–4, 7–6(6), but lost in the second round to Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová is a professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.-2006–2008:In the 2006 Australian...
1–6, 4–6.
Cîrstea was seeded 2nd at the 2010 Estoril Open
2010 Estoril Open
The 2010 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 21st edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the International-level tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
and defeated compatriat Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru is a Romanian tennis player. As of 2 August 2010, she is ranked World No. 158 in singles and No. 104 in doubles. The winner of nine singles and six doubles ITF Circuit titles, Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies, losing to Andrea Petkovic 6–2, 6–3...
6–3, 3–6, 6–1 in the first round and Michelle Larcher de Brito
Michelle Larcher de Brito
Michelle Caroline Larcher de Brito, born Micaela Carolina Larcher de Brito, also known as Michelle Larcher de Brito or Michelle Brito is a Portuguese tennis player. Larcher de Brito's family moved to the United States when she was nine years old so she could attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis...
7–5, 7–5 in the second. In the quarterfinals, she beat Arantxa Rus
Arantxa Rus
Arantxa Rus is a Dutch female tennis player. In 2008 she won the Australian Open for juniors, defeating Jessica Moore from Australia. Because of this win she went from 35th to 2nd place on the junior tennis list, but soon she became new junior No.1 player...
6–4, 6–1, but fell to Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja is a professional female tennis player from Spain. She turned pro in 2000.On 12 July 2010, Parra Santonja reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
, 6–1, 6–4 in the semifinals. In doubles, she partnered with Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
to win the tournament, receiving a bye in the first round and posting wins over Peng/Zhang, Manasieva/Olaru and Diatchenko/Vedy.
Cîrstea lost to Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
1–6 6–1 1–6 in the first round of the Madrid tournament in May. Two weeks later, she qualified for the Strasbourg
2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg
The 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay court. It was the 24th edition of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, and was part of the International-level tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
tournament, losing to Elena Baltacha
Elena Baltacha
Elena Baltacha is a British professional tennis player of Ukrainian background. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Award, she is also the long standing British number 1, a position she has held intermittently since 2002. As of 24 November 2011 she holds a current world ranking of No. 50. Her...
3–6 5–7 in the first round. At the 2010 French Open, she lost in the first round to defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
3–6 1–6.
At the 2010 AEGON International
2010 AEGON International
The 2010 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 35th edition of the event for the women and the 2nd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
she defeated seed 2 Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
losing in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
with the score 4–6 7–6(6) 7–6(4).
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
she was defeated by defending semifinalist Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
with the score 2–6, 2–6.
At the 2010 GDF SUEZ Grand Prix
2010 GDF SUEZ Grand Prix
The 2010 GDF SUEZ Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 14th edition of the Budapest Grand Prix, an International-level tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour...
she lost in the first round to a qualifing player Zuzana Ondrášková
Zuzana Ondrášková
Zuzana Ondrášková is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. On 9 February 2004 she reached her career-high singles ranking of World No...
with the score 4–6, 2–6.
She lost in the quarterfinal at tne turnaments 2010 İstanbul Cup
2010 İstanbul Cup
The 2010 İstanbul Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the İstanbul Cup, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
and 2010 e-Boks Danish Open
2010 e-Boks Danish Open
The 2010 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open was the first edition of the tennis tournament e-Boks Danish Open, an International-level tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place on indoor hard courts in Farum, Denmark from August 2 to August 8, 2010...
to Klára Zakopalová.
At the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
The 2010 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament that were played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, United States, with the men playing from August 14 through August 22, 2010, and the women...
were she qualifing to tournament she lost in the first round to Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
with the score 6–7, 2–6.
2011
At the 2011 Australian Open, Cîrstea defeated Mirjana LučićMirjana Lucic
Mirjana Lučić is a Croatian professional tennis player. She enjoyed a promising career on the WTA Tour in the late 1990s, during which she set several "youngest-ever" records, won one Grand Slam women's doubles title at the Australian Open in 1998 when she was only 15 years old, partnering Martina...
of Croatia 6–4, 6–2 before she was beaten by Shahar Peer of Israel in the second round 6–3, 6–2. In the doubles tournament, she played with Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
of the Czech Republic and defeated the team of Sarah Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...
of Germany and Marie-Eve Pelletier
Marie-Ève Pelletier
Marie-Ève Pelletier is a Canadian professional tennis player. She reached a career high ranking of 106 in singles on June 20, 2005 and a career high of 54 in doubles on April 12, 2010 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.-1998–present:...
of Canada 5–7, 6–2, 6–2. In the second round they lost to Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
of Zimbabwe and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6–4, 7–5.
In the 2011, Cellular South Cup, Sorana defeated Catherine Harrison (USA) in the first round 6–4, 6–2, before she lost to Shahar Peer (ISR) 3–6, 2–6 in the second round. In doubles she and her partner Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarova is a professional tennis player from Russia.Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia and is a right-handed player. She reached a career high of 115 in July 2010. During a successful junior career Pivovarova was ranked as high as number 2.- Biography :Anastasia Pivovarova...
(RUS) lost in the first round to Andrea Hlaváčková
Andrea Hlavácková
Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No.87, which she reached on 31 January 2011, and her highest doubles ranking is World No.17, reached on 15 August 2011...
(CZE)/Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. In her career, Hradecká has won ten WTA doubles titles. This total includes the 2011 French Open, in which she won her first Grand Slam title.-Career:...
(CZE) 6–3, 6–2.
At 2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is a tennis tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico. It is an event on both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour...
, Sorana defeated Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (AUT) 6–2, 6–4. In the second round she lost to Laura Pous-Tio (ESP) 6–2, 6–1. Sorana played doubles again now with Andreja Klepač
Andreja Klepac
Andreja Klepač is a professional Slovenian tennis player. While she has not won a WTA title of any kind, she has won 3 ITF singles titles and 11 ITF doubles titles, and made one WTA Tour singles final and two WTA Tour doubles final. Klepač reached her career-high singles ranking on July 14, 2008,...
(SLO) as a partner. They won the first round by defeated Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou is a Greek tennis player born in Chania, on the island of Crete.As of 2011, she has won five WTA singles titles and three doubles titles. In 2003, she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final. Her highest singles ranking has been 14th...
(GRE)/Jasmin Woehr (GER) 6–2, 6–0. They lost in the second round to Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)/Alexandra Panova
Alexandra Panova
Alexandra Panova is a professional Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 134, which she reached on 23 August 2010. Her career high in doubles is 131, which she reached on 27 April 2009.-2009:...
(RUS) 6–4, 3–6, 10–7.
Cirstea qualified in singles for the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
. In the first round she lost 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 to Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
(RUS).
In the Sony Ericsson Open, Sorana received a wildcard in singles, but lost 3–6, 6–1, 7–6(2) in the first round to Jie Zheng of China.
At the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
Andalucia Tennis Experience
The Andalucia Tennis Experience is a professional women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. The inaugural edition was in 2009. The event is affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association and is an International tournament on the WTA Tour....
, she lost in the first round 1–6, 6–4, 6–2 to Italian Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
. Sorana paired with Maria Elena Camerin
Maria Elena Camerin
Maria Elena Camerin is a professional female tennis player from Italy.On 11 October 2004, Camerin reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
of Italy for the doubles tournament defeating Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti is a professional female tennis player from Italy.On June 13, 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55...
(ITA)/Aurelie Vedy
Aurélie Védy
Aurélie Védy is a French professional tennis player. Her career high WTA doubles ranking is 85, set on May 4, 2009...
(FRA) 6–4, 6–1. They lost in the second round to Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
(ITA)/Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
(ITA) 6–4, 6–7 (4), 10–7.
In the next months Sorana didn't have good results. But she proved she is back in the form as she won 2011 Open GDF SUEZ de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes
2011 Open GDF SUEZ de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes
The 2011 Open GDF SUEZ de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was part of the 2011 ITF Women's Circuit...
in France.It was a 100.000$+ tournament with lot of top 100 players.
She beat Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the first round and compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru is a Romanian professional tennis player. She achieved a singles career high of World No. 26 on April 11, 2011. Her career high in doubles was World No. 47 on March 21, 2011.She is coached by Gabriel Urpi.-Biography:...
in the second in the 2011 French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
before losing 6–2 6–2 to China's Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
.
She then made it into the main draw of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
, where she lost in straight sets to Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier is a professional tennis player from France. Her career high was #40, achieved on 21 July 2008 and her highest ranking in doubles was World Number 146 on 15 June 2009.-Background:...
. Sorana played doubles again with Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...
of Japan defeating Chia-Jung Chuang (JPE)/Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) 6-4, 6-4. They won their second round 7-5, 6-3 against Sophie Lefevre
Sophie Lefèvre
Sophie Lefèvre is a professional French tennis player. On September 15, 2003, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 216. Her highest doubles ranking was 87 reached on May 18, 2009.-External links:...
(FRA)/ Eugeniya Rodina (RUS). They lost in third round to Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
(GER)/ Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
(AUS) 4-6, 3-6.
In Bastad, Sweden at the Collector Swedish Open Women Sorana defeated Mirjana Lucic
Mirjana Lucic
Mirjana Lučić is a Croatian professional tennis player. She enjoyed a promising career on the WTA Tour in the late 1990s, during which she set several "youngest-ever" records, won one Grand Slam women's doubles title at the Australian Open in 1998 when she was only 15 years old, partnering Martina...
(CRO) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round. She lost 3-6, 3-6 in the second round to Vesna Dolonts (RUS).
In Palermo, Italy at the XXIV SNAI Open Internationali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo Sorana won her first round match against Andrea Hlavackova
Andrea Hlavácková
Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No.87, which she reached on 31 January 2011, and her highest doubles ranking is World No.17, reached on 15 August 2011...
(CZE) 6-3, 6-2. She lost in second round to Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
(BUL) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Now in home at Bucharest ITF of Romania, Sorana beat her compatriots Diana Enache
Diana Enache
Diana Enache is a professional Romanian tennis player. On April 11, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of World No. 343 whilst her best doubles ranking was 225 on October 24, 2011. She is coached by Remus-Doru Enache....
6-3, 6-4 in first round and Madalina Gojnea
Mădălina Gojnea
Mădălina-Victorița Gojnea is a professional Romanian tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On July 4, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 149 whilst her best doubles ranking was 191 on July 9, 2007...
6-1, 6-3 in second round. She lost in third round to Laura Pous-Tio (ESP) 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4.
After that hard lost in her country, she played in Carlsbad, California at the Mercury Insurance Open. She was beat by Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe is an American professional tennis player. She played on the junior circuit, where she reached a high ranking of junior world no. 15, but is gradually playing more senior tournaments. She won the 2008 US Open Girls' singles championship.She made her WTA debut in Los Angeles, and...
of the United States in the first round 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3. Next tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio Western & Southern Open Sorana qualified in singles for the main draw. In the first round she defeated Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Yuryevna Pervak is a professional left-handed Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 37th, which she reached on 19 September 2011...
6-4, 3-6, 6-3, but lost in the second to Jill Craybas
Jill Craybas
- Early years :Craybas was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she played for coach Andy Brandi's Florida Gators women's tennis team in National Collegiate Athletics Association competition from 1993 to...
(USA) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (3).
In Dallas, the inaugural tournament of Texas Tennis Open
Texas Tennis Open
The Texas Tennis Open is a future professional tennis tournament for women. After some contradictory statements, WTA has made it a late addition to the 2011 WTA Tour. It will be played at the Hilton Lakes Tennis & Sports Club in Grapevine , Texas in the USA...
, Sorana beat Jarmila Gajdosova
Jarmila Gajdošová
Jarmila Gajdošová , known as Jarmila Groth from 2009 to 2011, is an Australian tennis player...
(AUS) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. In the second round she lost to Aravane Rezai
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...
(FRA) 6-2, 7-6 (4). Sorana played doubles for the first time with Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti is a professional female tennis player from Italy.On June 13, 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55...
of Italy. In the first round they defeated Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
(UKR)/Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 6-3, 3-6, 11-9. In the second they beat Andreja Klepac
Andreja Klepac
Andreja Klepač is a professional Slovenian tennis player. While she has not won a WTA title of any kind, she has won 3 ITF singles titles and 11 ITF doubles titles, and made one WTA Tour singles final and two WTA Tour doubles final. Klepač reached her career-high singles ranking on July 14, 2008,...
(SLO)/Tatiana Poutchek
Tatiana Poutchek
Tatiana Poutchek is a tennis player from Belarus. Her career high ranking is No. 55 in the world, achieved on July 22, 2002.Many of Poutchek's greatest career results have come in Tashkent reaching 1 singles final and 7 doubles finals winning 5. ....
(BLR) 7-6 (2), 6-7 (0), 12-10. In the third or semi-final match they beat Sofia Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
(SWE)/Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua is an Australian professional tennis player who currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. She was previously coached by former Australian player Nicole Pratt, before the two decided to part ways prior to the 2009 Australian Open...
(AUS) 6-3, 6-3. They won their final match and the title by defeating Alize Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
(FRA)/Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier is a professional tennis player from France. Her career high was #40, achieved on 21 July 2008 and her highest ranking in doubles was World Number 146 on 15 June 2009.-Background:...
(FRA) 7-5, 6-3. Sorana won her fourth WTA doubles title. Brianti won her second.
At the US Open, Sorana lost in the first round to Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
of Belgium 6-1, 7-5. Sorana paired with Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...
of Japan in doubles. They defeated Casey Dellaqua (AUS)/Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
(AUS) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round. They lost in the second round to Maria Jose Sanchez (ESP)/Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
(ESP) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
In Uzkebistan, the Tashkent Open
Tashkent Open
The Tashkent Open by Zeromax is a tennis tournament held in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. Held since 1999, this WTA Tour event is an International tournament and is played on outdoor hard courts.-Women's Singles:-Women's Doubles:...
Sorana have good results. She won her first round match by defeating Bojana Jovanovski
Bojana Jovanovski
Bojana Jovanovski is a Serbian tennis player. As of 24 October 2011, Jovanovski is ranked World No. 56 and is the third highest ranked Serbian player, after World No. 14 Jelena Janković and No. 26 Ana Ivanović...
(SRB) 6-3, 6-1. Sorana in the second round beat Aleksandra Krunic
Aleksandra Krunić
Aleksandra Krunić is a Serbian professional tennis player, who is, as of October 03 2011, ranked No. 213. Krunić has won six ITF events — five in singles and one in doubles....
of Serbia 6-3, 6-4, but lost in the third set 6-7 (5), 4-6 to Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
(RUS). Sorana played doubles too with Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier is a professional tennis player from France. Her career high was #40, achieved on 21 July 2008 and her highest ranking in doubles was World Number 146 on 15 June 2009.-Background:...
(FRA), but they lost in the first round to Iryna Bremond (FRA)/Mandy Minella
Mandy Minella
Mandy Minella is a professional Luxembourgian tennis player. Her highest singles ranking to date is World Number 125 on July 25, 2011, and World Number 250 for doubles on July 17, 2006...
(LUX) 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.
At Saint Malo, France in 16' Open GDF SUEZ de Bretagne, Sorana played great tennis. Usually she is getting better results playing on clay surfaces. Sorana defeated Estrella Cabeza Candela
Estrella Cabeza Candela
Estrella Cabeza Candela is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 6 April 2009 she reached her highest world single ranking, number 167. As of 21 March 2011 she is number 268.-External links:...
(ESP) 6-7 (4), 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. In the second she beat Eva Fernandez-Brugues
Eva Fernández-Brugués
Eva Fernández-Brugués is a professional Spanish tennis player. On October 19, 2009, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 185 whilst her best doubles ranking was 344 on December 8, 2008.-ITF Circuit finals:...
(ESP) 6-4, 6-3. In quarterfinals, Sorana won by beating Laura Pous-Tio (ESP) 6-3, 6-1. She defeated Stefanie Voegele
Stefanie Voegele
Stefanie Vögele is a professional Swiss tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 63, which she reached on March 1, 2010. Her career high in doubles is No...
(SUI) 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinal match. It was an interesting and close match. Voegele served for the match twice and was two points away from defeating Cirstea. Lucky Sorana have her father cheering for her during that match. Sorana won the title by defeating Silvia Soler Espinosa
Silvia Soler Espinosa
Silvia Soler Espinosa is an Spanish tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 136, which she reached on June 6, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 255, which she reached on May 9, 2011.-External links:...
(ESP) 6-2, 6-2.
In Generali Ladies Linz
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
, Asustria, Sorana played in the qualifiying draw with great victories. In round of 32 or first round, Sorana beat Nikola Hofmanova
Nikola Hofmanova
Nikola Hofmanova is a female tennis player originally from Chomutov, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic, and now residing in Hornstein, Austria....
(AUT) 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-0. In round of 16 or second round, she beat Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. In quarters or third round, Sorana defeated Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 6-1, 6-2 to play in the main singles draw. In the first round, Sorana beat Tamira Paszek
Tamira Paszek
Tamira Shelah Paszek is a professional tennis player from Austria. As of July 4, 2011, she is the no.1 ranked tennis player from Austria in the WTA ranking, at No. 41....
(AUT) 7-5, 6-3. She defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
(RUS) the 4th seed of the tournament 4-6, 6-0,6-4 in second round. But lost in third round to Lucie Safarova
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
(CZE) 5-7, 2-6.
Sorana next tournament was an ITF tournament in France, Open GDF SUEZ Region Limousin. A tournament of 50,000$+ Limoges with top 100 players. In round of 32 or first round Sorana defeated Paula Ormachea (ARG) 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3. In round of 16 or second round, She beat Stefanie Voegele
Stefanie Voegele
Stefanie Vögele is a professional Swiss tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 63, which she reached on March 1, 2010. Her career high in doubles is No...
(SUI) 7-5, 6-3. In quarterfinals, Sorana defeated Michaella Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek is a Dutch professional tennis player. Her highest WTA ranking was number 30 on 11 February 2008. She currently is the second best ranked player from the Netherlands behind Arantxa Rus.-Personal life:...
(NED) 6-3, 7-6 (2). During semifinals Sorana beat Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova is a professional female tennis player from Uzbekistan.In 2005, she reached her first ever WTA singles final in Tashkent, the capital of her home country. In the final she lost to 16-year old Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands...
(UZB) 7-5, 6-1. In the final, She defeated Sofia Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
(SWE) 6-2, 6-3. According to Sorana own words this match was the best she played in the tournament. Also she wrote this on her facebook page: "Its funny how tennis works when u think about it.From being match point down in my 1st round match here i am winning the tournament!!!!Well a bit similar to life :)" - Sorana Cirstea. Another great tournament for Cirstea, her third title on French territory in 2011.