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Sorana Cirstea has reacted to Anett Kontaveit spending time by the sea after the latter called time on her tennis career in 2023.
In June 2023, Kontaveit, a former WTA World No. 2, announced that she would be retiring from tennis after that year's Wimbledon Championships. Her decision stemmed from lumbar disc degeneration, a back condition that affected her for several months prior to the announcement.
The 28-year-old Estonian made the announcement via social media.
"After several doctor's visits and consultations with my medical team, I have been advised that I have lumbar disc degeneration in my back. This does not allow for full-scale training or continued competition. Therefore, it is impossible to continue at the top level in such a highly competitive field." Kontaveit wrote on Instagram.
At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, Kontaveit defeated Lucrezia Stefanini in the first round before bowing out in the second round against Marie Bouzkova. The Estonian also paired up with Emil Ruusuvuori to play mixed doubles, but lost to Yang Zhaoxuan and Kevin Krawietz. The mixed doubles loss marked the end of her competitive tennis career.
Recently, the former World No. 2 shared a picture of herself on social media where she can be seen in a bikini spending time by the sea. She tagged Soneva Jani, a luxury resort in Maldives, in the post's location.
The caption read:
"Do not disturb," Kontaveit wrote in an Instagram post.
Sorana Cirstea, the 33-year-old Romanian WTA player, took notice of Kontaveit's post and left a comment on it.
"Life after tennis looks soooo good," Cirstea wrote in her comment.
Sorana Cirstea got off to a fine start at the Dubai Tennis Championships
2024 has so far turned out to be a mixed bag for Sorana Cirstea. The former WTA World No. 21's first two tournaments of the season were the Brisbane International and the Adelaide International. However, she was ousted in the first round in both tournaments. Things continued in the same vein at the Australian Open, where the Romanian was the 22nd seed.
There was a noticeable improvement in Cirstea's form at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she reached the quarterfinals after defeating Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari. However, in the quarterfinals, she lost to Daria Kasatkina.
The 33-year-old also began her Qatar Open campaign brightly as she made short work of former US Open champion Sloane Stephens. In the next round, however, eventual champion Iga Swiatek dismantled her hopes.
Right now, Cirstea is playing at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she got the better of former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-6(2) in the first round. 13th seed Veronika Kudermetova awaits her in the next round.
