Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea beats Han Shi in Ningbo Open first round
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The gist
Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea beat qualifier Han Shi 6-3, 6-2 in the Ningbo Open first round.
Cirstea, 36 and retiring at year's end, faces Sara Bejlek next in the round of 16.
Background
Sorana Cirstea is a Romanian tennis player born in Bucharest in 1990, seeded 8th at the Ningbo Open and ranked in the WTA top 20. She is in her last season and is set to retire at the end of the year, which makes each remaining tournament notable. The Ningbo win followed a rough patch: she had lost her previous two matches, including a three-set defeat to Hanyu Guo at the Wuhan Open on October 13.
How it unfolded
- Sep 2, 2026Cirstea beat Diane Parry 6-7, 7-5 in the US Open second round.
- Sep 4, 2026She beat 19th seed Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-3 in the third round.
- Sep 6, 2026She lost to third seed Jessica Pegula 3-6, 4-6 in the round of 16.
- Oct 13, 2026She lost to wildcard Hanyu Guo 6-1, 6-7, 5-7 in the Wuhan Open second round.
- Oct 19, 2026She beat qualifier Han Shi 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour 15 minutes in the Ningbo Open first round.
- Oct 21, 2026She is scheduled to face Sara Bejlek in the Ningbo Open round of 16, leading their head-to-head 1:0 since 2022.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- TennisTemple said Cirstea's ranking advantage showed in a controlled straight-set win over world No. 177, halting a two-match losing run.
- Expert
- Tennishead noted that Cirstea is set to retire at the end of the year but continues to impress whenever she plays.
Still unverified
Sources differ on Cirstea's ranking points: TennisTemple lists No. 17 with 2380 points, while the WTA ranking page lists 2535 points.