Sorana Cirstea reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 US Open after beating Elena Rybakina in the third round.
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea has confirmed on social media that she will be sidelined for six months after undergoing surgery on her left foot.
The WTA number 29 has been dealing with an injury to her left foot, with severe pain having ruined the second-half of her 2024 season.
Having attempted to power through the clay court season, Cirstea was seeded 29th at Wimbledon and despite leading by a set in her opening match against British qualifier Sonay Kartal, she was thrashed in the last two.
With the US Open approaching, Cirstea would have hoped to rediscover her form from last year, where she shocked Elena Rybakina in the third round, as well as beating former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
Sorana Cirstea confirms she will not be back on the WTA Tour until 2025
Having skipped the Paris Olympics, Cirstea’s surgery update was bittersweet.
Sharing the news on her Instagram story on Thursday, she said: “It has been more than 6 months of dealing with severe pain on my foot. After trying everything possible without any result or improvement, my doctors and I have decided to proceed with the surgery.
“The good news is that everything went well, the bad news is that I will miss the rest of the season. I want to thank everyone for their support and I will see [you] in 2025.”
The 15 months from the beginning of 2023 to March this year, saw the Romanian play her best tennis and reach three WTA 1000 semi-finals – the only three of her career.
Is there a player welfare issue in tennis?
There were several big names missing from the Paris Olympics, including the top seed on the men’s side Jannik Sinner who pulled out of the Games through illness.
Hubert Hurkacz’s injury allegedly has him sidelined until 2025, with his ranking as world number seven set to suffer significantly.
While players will always carry niggles through a season, the intensity of the schedule appears to have caught up with a handful of the sport’s top stars.
Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, and Emma Raducanu all highlighted how the constant surface changes meant their Olympic ambitions had to be delayed until 2028, with the three looking to prioritise their health and fitness.
It is increasingly becoming a trend we are seeing on both the ATP and WTA, and with Cirstea the latest to need a long time to recover, there will surely be more to come as the brutal hard court season continues its pace.
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