In an era when some of the greatest champions in history have continued to improve deep into their thirties, it can be easy to overlook the fact that marginal gains come in many shapes and sizes. Not everyone can be like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, whose collective willingness to add new layers to their respective games, adapting to age and circumstance, seems almost to have rendered the passage of time irrelevant. Many players only truly come to understand their strengths – and find solutions to their weaknesses – late in their careers.
One such figure is Sorana Cirstea, who gets our nod as the most improved player of 2023 after compiling her finest season since she reached the 2009 French Open quarter-finals as a raw 19-year-old. Fourteen years on, the Romanian enjoyed her best grand slam run since by reaching the same stage at the US Open. She also demonstrated her versatility – and her competitive steel – by recovering from championship point down to win a third career title on the clay courts of Reus. In terms of results, though, it was Cirstea’s success over the sunshine swing that underpinned her season – and highlighted the progress she has made in several key areas.
After an indifferent start to the year, Cirstea entered spring languishing at No 83 in the rankings. At risk of dropping out of the top 100 for the first time in four years, she rebounded magnificently, claiming a last-eight berth in Indian Wells before making her first WTA 1000 semi-final in a decade at the Miami Open.
Notable in themselves, those results were all the more impressive for the calibre of the opponents she went through. Playing bold and brilliant tennis, Cirstea earned a pair of victories over Caroline Garcia, the world No 4 and reigning WTA Finals champion, as well as defeating soon-to-be Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova and soon-to-be French Open finalist Karolina Muchova. Cirstea also claimed a landmark first singles success against second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, the finest win of her career by ranking, to secure a swift return to the top 50.
A fine athlete with a heavy baseline game and a penetrating serve, Cirstea has always possessed the tools to unsettle the world’s best. Belief in the big moments has proved more elusive, however, and her results on US hard courts this year are testament to the mental and tactical improvements she has made in the 15 months since hiring Thomas Johansson, a former Australian Open champion and world No 7, as her coach.
“He made me smarter on the court,” Cirstea said in Indian Wells. “My shots were always there, but sometimes I couldn’t see certain things.”
Her vision is now clearer, both tactically and temperamentally. Supported by Johansson and a relentless work ethic, Cirstea has calmed her occasionally fiery temperament and learned to read the unfolding patterns of a match more sharply and shrewdly. In her best moments, the Romanian has been able not only to trust her game, but also to apply her heavy artillery with greater poise and purpose.
“She’s very talented and she has weapons all over the place,” says Johansson. “Her problem has not been the tennis. It’s been the mental side of the game.”
It remains a work in progress, but there are clear signs that, age notwithstanding, Cirstea is starting to marshal her gifts more consistently. That was never more apparent than at the US Open, where her progress to the last eight was punctuated by impressive wins over Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic. Finally, she appears to be on a trajectory that reflects her talent; the challenge now, as a poor post-New York phase emphasised, will be to sustain her level week-in, week-out.
“I think I have always been a good player. I have always been a dangerous player. I have always had a big game, but sometimes I lacked a bit of consistency,” Cirstea reflected in Miami. “I would have, let’s say, three, four months when I was playing really well, and then drop the level and then come back again.
“In these 10 years [since reaching the 2013 Canadian Open final, her best previous run at WTA 1000 level] I feel like I have had great results as well, and periods where I was playing very, very well. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to keep that level the whole year.
“It’s always a puzzle, and now all the pieces are starting to come together.”
Cirstea was not among the official WTA award nominees, and it might be argued that the pattern of her season – a poor start followed by a spring zenith, a somewhat underwhelming summer followed by a brilliant surge at Flushing Meadows, and then another dip – merely confirmed her reputation as a streaky player who too rarely achieves the results of which she is capable. Naysayers might also object that her year-end ranking of 25th, one place lower than 2022, points more to stagnation than development.
Zheng Qinwen, who won the WTA award for the most improved player of 2023, matched Cirstea’s run at the US Open, won two titles to the Romanian’s one, and finished the year strongly, winning 12 of her last 15 matches to end the year ranked 15th. Yet Cirstea claimed four top-five wins to Zheng’s one, and had a superior record at WTA 1000 level. And while Zheng’s improvement might be expected – lest we forget, she was named newcomer of the year last season – Cirstea is getting better at a more advanced stage in her career, which is always a tougher proposition.
She may have finished the season one place lower in the rankings than last year, but Cirstea is still only four spots off her career high, and became the Romanian No 1 for the first time this year. At 33, her best years may yet be ahead.