ROLAND GARROS

May 31, 2026

Sorana Cirstea

Press Conference

S. CIRSTEA/W. Xiyu

6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Just talk us through your match a little bit, and how do you evaluate your performance today?

SORANA CIRSTEA: Yes, of course, I'm very happy with the win. I thought it was a great match. Even if I was up 6-3, 5-2, I thought she was playing really, really well. I was quite lucky to get through that point so fast.

Then I felt a little bit I dropped the intensity, and she just was all over me. But very, very happy to win in two sets today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I think the last time that you were in a quarterfinals here in French Open was 17 years ago. I'm just kind of curious, how does reaching the quarterfinals here now kind of compare to that experience in terms of your feeling and things like that?

SORANA CIRSTEA: Yeah, I think back then I was a kid, just started on tour. Didn't know exactly too much what was happening. I was just playing, and I was just at the beginning of my career.

Of course, now I have so many years behind me. I have so much experience, maturity. I feel I'm a completely different player. It's just very, very different, you know.

But in the same time it's very beautiful. I'm very grateful for everything that's happening. I'm very happy to see the way I evolved as a player in all these years.

Q. You've been talking about how you didn't do anything different before this season, but apparently there's something a little bit different. What do you think it is?

SORANA CIRSTEA: Again, I mean, everyone that knows me, they realize that my day-to-day has not changed. I still work the same. I still put the same discipline and ethics. I'm still as hard on myself as I used to be in the past.

Again, I've had the surgery I think two years ago, and then after I got back from the surgery, slowly after Wimbledon last year I started to play very, very good. I'm very happy to be able to keep that level every single week.

I think this is different. It's probably the first time in my career where I'm able to tap into that level every single match. I've said it many times. I was always a very dangerous player. Always I could be top 10, and I could do good results, but maybe sometimes I was a little bit up and down.

I didn't really know what to expect from me, which now I think my base level improved, and every time I'm on the court I manage to get to at least a 7 out of 10.

Q. If it wasn't already asked in the first question, when you said recently that you wanted to retire at the end of the year, but then at the same time you see now what will happen the next month. Today if you had to bet on yourself, are you going to keep on playing, or you will really decide to stop? I think that, as you just said, you never had all this continuity that you have now, so it would be such a pity that you would stop.

SORANA CIRSTEA: Yes, absolutely. I think this year it's going way better than I expected. Like I said, I came into my last year, wanted to go out on the front door of the sport, wanting to really do well, but I didn't really think it was going to go that well.

Also, I'm really enjoying. I think the last couple of years I realized how much I love this sport. I'm also, like I said, working hard, but also having fun. You can see this a little bit.

Of course, I'm a competitor. I want to win every single match, but in the same time I'm not putting as much pressure. I'm not so hard on myself.

At the moment the decision hasn't changed. I haven't really thought about it. I'm just trying to take it week by week, and I'm not going to do anything different. I'm not going to try now to change things or put any pressure.

Of course, we will assess things as we go, but at the moment the decision is the same.

Q. On the topic of kind of, you know, being a young player, getting big results, and you think the world's ahead of you, and it's just going to continue forever. Now, with all of these results, whether it's here or winning Kluge, a title, what has the difference between achieving things when you're young, and maybe you don't know any better, versus now where maybe these opportunities may not come as often, obviously, anymore?

SORANA CIRSTEA: Yeah, of course, it's different, but I think this is the beauty of life. I think the older we get, the more we mature, and we have a different kind of perspective and a different kind of mindset.

I think when I was really young, it was little bit of life or death every single match. I would win; I was very, very happy. I would lose; two days I would be crying. Which now it's a little bit.

Yes, I have so much passion for the sport. I have so much joy playing, but in the same time, it's my job. Okay, did I try my best today? Did I bring my 100%? Okay, that's all I can ask.

Of course, I'm going to be sad if I lose a match, for example, like today, but tomorrow I'm still going to go on court and practice or go to Queen's, the next tournament.

So I think you have little bit of perspective. Also, I think the biggest change in my career has been, like, from every single year I was mentally a little bit better, and I found my peace. It's just different.

I mean, some of the athletes manage to get that amazing mentality very early on, and then you see them doing amazing. Some others, they have a roller coaster like I've had. Like I was doing very good, and I've had years where I wasn't playing so good. I was still top 100. I was still very dangerous player, but maybe not at the level that people were expecting for me to go.

In the same time, I've made peace with everything. I've made peace with my past. I have no regrets for the last couple of years of my career. I gave really my 100%. You can see. Also, I'm here because I worked really hard, and I belong to be here.

Q. Tennis changed a lot, and you have been through all these changes. What would you think if you have to name three topics which are very difficult today if you compare 10 years ago, 15 years ago, that you have to manage to be really so successful as you are doing now?

SORANA CIRSTEA: Absolutely. I think the first one, it's the physical aspect. I think everyone is very, very strong physically. When I first started on tour, there weren't any fitness coaches, you know. Now we all have our team, our fitness coach with us. So I feel the physical part, it's way more demanding.

If maybe before I always had an aggressive game. I had to play one or two good shots, and I would win the point. Now I have to play three, four, five shots in order to win the point. So everyone is stronger physically, so then they defend better.

Second, I think is the recovery. I've been lucky that now at 36 I have less injuries than when I had at 19. Everyone, I think, we are putting as much time on the recovery as we are putting on the practice court and in the gym. Again, all of us travel with physios.

I think, also, there is so much more information, and we all tap into that information, if it's recovery, tools, supplements and rest, hydration.

The third one, I think the game is much more complete. Before I feel you had either a defensive player or attacking players, which now you have to be a little bit all-around. If you want to be at the top, you need to be able to attack, defend, move, serve, return.

It's way more complete, I would say. I think these three are the biggest changes.