Sorana Cirstea demands tournament official's attention over "unplayable" Italian Open court conditions

Sorana Cirstea recently expressed her frustration with the court conditions at the Grand Stand Arena, during her second-round match against Jelena Ostapenko at the Italian Open. Cirstea had advanced to the second round by defeating Katie Volynets 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first.

In her match against Ostapenko, Cirstea started slowly, losing the first set 6-3. However, she managed to bounce back and win the second set to level the scores.

Despite saving six match points in the third set, Cirstea was ultimately unable to come through as Ostapenko secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

Early in the first set of the match, Sorana Cirstea addressed the chair umpire and expressed her frustration with the "unplayable" court condtitions at the Grand Stand Arena.

"It is very bad. No but this is the condition of the court. No all over the court it is breaking. I don't understand how they make us play on this court. It is unplayable," Cirstea said.

With her win, Jelena Ostapenko extended her winning record against Cirstea to 3-0. She will take on Barbora Krejcikova next, in the third round of the Italian Open.

How Sorana Cirstea has fared during the clay-court season so far

Sorana Cirstea at the 2023 Madrid Open

Sorana Cirstea began her clay-court season at the Madrid Open. She defeated Lauren Davis in the first round before falling to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Cirstea then competed at the WTA 125 Catalina Open, where she defeated Aliona Bolsova, Anna Karolina Schmeidlova, Caty McNally and Lauren Davis in straight sets to reach the final. She saved a championship point to down qualifier Elizabeth Mandlik 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(1) in the summit clash, marking her first WTA title since the Istanbul Open in 2021.

Following that win, Cirstea acknowlegded that at the start of the tournament she had not expected to win given the highly competitive field. She expressed her delight at coming through with the title, which she attributed to her confidence and self-belief.

"I didn't expect to walk away with the trophy at the start of the week -- I knew it would be a tough field for a 125. But at the same time I had confidence, I knew I was playing well, I'm the second seed. So I was expecting a good run, but a win is the best," she said.

Sorana Cirstea currently holds a 19-9 win/loss record for the season.