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Sorana Cirstea has hinted that she could be forced to consider her impending retirement after earning the biggest win of her career in what is set to be her last year on the tour. Aged 36, the Romanian announced that 2026 would be her farewell season, but she's been playing better than ever.

Cirstea currently sits at No. 27 in the world, six spots away from the career-high she set in 2013, and she lifted a title in Cluj earlier this season. Now, she's caused one of the biggest upsets at the Italian Open, taking out Aryna Sabalenka to claim her first-ever victory over a world No. 1.

Cirstea stormed back from a set and break down to claim a 2-6 6-4 7-5 victory, holding her nerve after she was broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the decider. It marked Sabalenka's earliest exit from any tournament since February 2025, and fans are now desperate to know whether Cirstea will rethink her retirement plans.

During her on-court interview on Campo Centrale, the Romanian was asked: "Sorana, we know this is your last year on tour, but is there nothing that we can do to make you change your mind? Please, we are all asking that!"

She played coy and replied: "Maybe if I win the tournament, I promise I will think about it!" But Cirstea spoke to Sky Sports after leaving the court, and was asked whether she would genuinely consider extending her career given how well she's been playing.

"Yeah, I mean it's been, definitely, much better than I expected," she replied. "Already last year, I started to play well, end of the season, and last year I was already thinking about the idea to finish and then I played very good end of the year, and then I said 'Okay, I'm gonna give myself another year'.

"Because I'm also at the age where I'm also enjoying this, like I said, I'm working hard, but I'm also enjoying it. And I found that beautiful balance, and I absolutely love tennis, and we will see."

Cirstea knows there is plenty of interest in her retirement and whether she will really hang up her racket at the end of the year. Whatever she decides, she still has some goals to tick off before she walks away.

"Everyone has been asking me, like, 'You cannot retire, you cannot retire!' and I mean, again, at this moment, my mind is set. But we will see what I can achieve this year and again, even if this is my last year, I still have a lot of goals and things to improve, and I go every day on the court with a plan," she explained.

"For me, this is what gets me going every day, even if I'm at my age and last year, I still think I can improve so many things. Again, I feel I found that balance, I'm very grateful to tennis and also very grateful for everything I'm experiencing."

And this victory was even sweeter for the world No. 27, who has already suffered some tough losses to top-10 stars Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva during the clay swing. "Absolutely, it was because I feel I've been playing really well, and I lost a couple of tight ones against the top girls," she added.

"I lost a tight one against Coco last week in Madrid, and then against Andreeva in Linz, and I really felt that I can win these matches. It's nice, like I said, I work really hard so it's nice when you get the results because it means I'm putting the right work. I'm not just working hard, I'm working smart."