Romania’s Sorana Cirstea became the oldest player to break into the WTA Top 20 for the first time after rising to world number 18 in Monday’s rankings update.
The 36-year-old had previously peaked at number 21 in 2013 and 2014 and returned close to the milestone in recent seasons, reaching number 22 in 2024, number 25 in 2023 and number 24 in 2022.
Cirstea climbed nine places from number 27 after an impressive run at the Italian Open, where she defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the third round before losing to third seed Coco Gauff in the semifinals.
Before the start of the season, Cirstea said 2026 would likely be her final year on tour, but she has enjoyed a strong campaign with a 27-8 singles record and one title, won in her native Romania. It was the fourth singles title of her career.
Cirstea will head into the French Open in strong form as she looks to improve on her best result at French Open, a quarter-final appearance in 2009. She also reached the last eight at the US Open in 2023.
Her next singles victory will be the 600th of her professional career, which began in 2008.
The previous record for the oldest first-time Top 20 debut belonged to Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who entered the Top 20 at age 35 in 2017.
