NEW YORK — One announced that at 36, 2026 would be her last year competing, but strong results are making her reconsider; the other won Roland Garros at 19 and is projected to be one of the great champions of her era. They are very close friends: Sorana Cirstea and Mirra Andreeva.
What do they admire most about each other? “I’ll go first!” Andreeva said, leaning into CLAY‘s microphone so the Romanian could not hear: “She’s very nice, super beautiful, kindhearted, super easy going. It’s just so easy to talk to her about anything in the world. The easiest person ever! I love doing whatever with her.”
On Sunday 29 April 2007, Cirstea played her first WTA final. She lost to Gisella Dulko in Budapest, Hungary. That same day, five thousand kilometres away, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Andreeva was born.
There is no generational gap between them — 19 years apart, they share one of the most unlikely friendships on tour.
Three days before the start of the US Open they were both dressed elegantly in black. They could not stop laughing. They were completely at ease sharing the interview with CLAY together at a party in a Manhattan hotel. Both are having a successful tournament, having reached the fourth round.
“She’s so mature for her age,” said Cirstea. “She’s my favourite person on tour, the most amazing personality. My favourite player… she has zero weaknesses! I remember the first time I saw her, it was on TV when she was 16. I noticed she had that star-power.”
“I told my coach many times ‘she’s gonna win a Grand Slam very soon!’ After she won the French Open I said she’s gonna win many, many Grand Slams and we all agreed,” the Romanian revealed. The world number five could not hold back after hearing those words and gave her a hug.
This season they faced each other for the first time. The second was in Paris, where Andreeva overwhelmed her friend in the quarterfinals. “She killed me in all aspects. She was playing insane and I told her after: ‘please go and win this for me’,” Cirstea admitted.
“I was so nervous because it’s so tough to face someone that you admire so much. But yes, I guess I was in the zone,” Andreeva, winner of six professional titles, told CLAY in New York.
“You see? You played so well even being nervous and that’s why I say I’ve never seen someone at your age so mature,” the Romanian, originally from Bucharest, replied.
After announcing she would retire after 2026, Cirstea began showing the best tennis of her life and became the oldest woman to break into the top 20 for the first time. She set personal records along the way and arrived at the US Open with her best-ever ranking (17th). At Flushing Meadows she is already in the fourth round, where she will face North American Jessica Pegula (3rd).
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She recently fulfilled her dream of winning a title in Romania (Transilvania Open), matched her best Grand Slam result, beat a world number one for the first time (Sabalenka in Rome) and arrived at the final stretch of the year with a chance of qualifying for her first WTA Finals. She is currently 11th in the Race.
Her best season on tour has opened up doubts and her message has changed.
After that defeat to her friend Andreeva in Paris she declared her retirement decision remained firm. Three months later, she is not so definitive. In New York she admitted the door is open.
“I’m taking it week by week. It makes me very happy to be playing so well and enjoying what makes me happy,” she told CLAY.
“I have many interests outside of tennis, and of course I want a family. When I feel I no longer have the level, I will retire in a beautiful way,” she said in an interview with Tennis Channel.
Few athletes retire at their peak. Cirstea will have to decide whether she wants it that way, or whether at 37 she will try to keep winning in a season that was not in her plans.
“Whatever she wants to achieve next year, she deserves it. Doesn’t matter if it is on the court or off the court. I want her to be happy,” Andreeva said.
There is one thing Cirstea is certain she will do in 2027: “I’ll be supporting Mirra. Forever her friend and her number one fan.”
