Sorana Cirstea obtained her first ever win over a world number one against Aryna Sabalenka in Rome.
Cirstea ended a 14-month streak of Sabalenka’s after coming from a set down to beat her 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The Romanian was set to retire at the end of this year, but Cirstea has now suggested she could make a U-turn on this decision.
Cirstea has achieved lots of success in her 20-year career, and she has now revealed if she considers her victory over Sabalenka her greatest career victory.
Sorana Cirstea suggests if beating Aryna Sabalenka is the best win of her career
At 36 years old, Cirstea is the oldest player to claim their first win over the world number one, something she admitted she was unaware of after the match.
When asked if this is the best win of her career in her post-match press conference, Cirstea suggested that there are other wins that also stand out to her.
“It’s very hard to say this is the best win because I’ve had wonderful wins in my career,” said Cirstea. “I’ve always been a player that on a good day I could beat anyone.
“Like I said, I had the impression that I’ve beaten number one before. I don’t know. I don’t like to make a ranking and say which match was the best.
“Absolutely it’s a match that I’m happy with. What I’m the happiest about is the way I played. I think second set and third set I played quite high level. I was really, like, following the plan.
“Also, like I said, winning the match on my terms. This made me happy. Of course, it’s going to be an important win. I’ve had quite a few that I treasure through the years.”
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Sorana Cirstea states the biggest regret from her tennis career
Cirstea has won four WTA titles in her career, reached a WTA 1000 final, two Grand Slam quarterfinals and been ranked as high as world number 21.
However, there are some things from earlier on in her career that Cirstea regrets, which she admitted after beating Sabalenka.
“Yes, I think every athlete has some regrets,” said Cirstea. “No matter where you are, even if you are number one, even if you won Grand Slam, you always have regrets. You always believe that you could do more.
“Of course, maybe I have regrets for the beginning of my career. I could have done things better. I could have been more disciplined. I could have, I don’t know… There are lots of things I could have done better.
“But I’m very happy with the last part of my career because the last part of my career I feel I’ve really given everything to tennis. I worked hard. I was disciplined. I’ve done all the right things.
“If I do have regrets, it’s for the beginning of my career. Towards the end now I feel I’ve been very, very professional. I’m very happy. Also I’m happy that I managed the last couple of years to also enjoy. Be competitive, have ambition, want to do, but also be able to enjoy what I’m doing. I love tennis. I love the sport. I found that balance that for me. It’s wonderful to have.
“So of course there are many regrets. I think every athlete has regrets. But at some point you have to make peace with them and move on.”
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Cirstea cannot have many regrets for how her potential final season on tour is going, as she is now closing in on making her top 20 debut.
The 36-year-old will now play Linda Noskova for a place in the Italian Open quarterfinals, with Cirstea already having beaten the Czech twice this year.
