Romanian veteran ​Sorana Cirstea proved that dreams have no expiry as she beat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 ‌7-6(4) at the French Open on Sunday to reach her first ​Roland Garros quarter-final in 17 years.

The 36-year-old, who is retiring at ⁠the end of the season, advanced to the quarter-final of a Grand Slam for just the third time in her career.

It will be her first quarterfinal in the French capital since ‌2009 – the longest gap between the first two quarter-finals at a women’s singles major in the Open Era.

“I always thought there is no ‌expiry date for ambition and for dreams. I have so much passion ‌for ⁠this sport,” Cirstea said after her victory.

“I absolutely love tennis and ⁠to be able to still play at this level – have my family, my team, the closest people watching me – it’s an absolute joy.

“I think sometimes society puts us in certain groups because of ​the age. But I think in ‌life, you are free to do whatever you want and I want to play. And here I am, thank you everyone for all the support.” She could sense an opening for a shot at glory, with the bottom half ‌of the women’s draw devoid of a Grand Slam finalist after a ​string of upsets including the exit of four-time champion Iga Swiatek earlier in the day.

Form of life

Cirstea is in the form ⁠of her life after becoming the oldest player to break into the top 20 earlier this month. She reached two semifinals during the clay court swing and shocked world ‌number one Aryna Sabalenka in Rome.

The Romanian also became the oldest player in the Open Era to claim a 6-0 6-0 win in a Grand Slam main draw with her third-round victory over Solana Sierra.

Against Wang, Cirstea dominated the opening set, breaking twice to surge into a 5-1 lead.

With the finish line in sight in the second set for Cirstea at 5-2, Wang fought back to force a ‌tiebreak where the Romanian found a second wind to win in 84 minutes before the pair ​embraced at the net.

“I think the older I got, the less pressure I put on myself. I’m trying to just play the points, ⁠not play the score and this is what’s helping me,” Cirstea added.

“I think I’m ⁠a very complete player. I can attack, I can defend, I’m way calmer on the court and I’m also enjoying (myself).

“At the end of the ‌day, we all have a passion and my passion is tennis. I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happening.”

Cirstea will next play the winner of the ​match between eighth seed Mirra Andreeva and Jil Teichmann. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Cawthorne)

Marta Kostyuk reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time on Sunday (May 31, 2026) by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.

Kostyuk, who is undefeated on clay this season, had lost their three previous matches and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday (May 31).

She defended extremely well, chasing Swiatek’s shots all over the court, and also produced some stunning groundstroke winners while her rival was also undone by her own mistakes.

An intense baseline battle unfolded from the outset and Swiatek earned the first break when she overwhelmed Kostyuk after a long rally with a backhand winner.

Kostyuk broke back immediately, though, only to drop her serve again and hand Swiatek a 5-4 lead.

The Polish player showed signs of nerves as she double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide and then missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5. Swiatek hit two more double faults in the 12th game and the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player sealed the set with a backhand passing shot.

Swiatek then briefly left the court. Meanwhile, Kostyuk kept herself warm by stretching and hopping beside her chair, then received some applause as she did a few dance moves to the music playing in the stadium.

Following a first week marked by a suffocating heatwave, relief finally arrived in Paris on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to 21 degrees C (70 F) around midday.

When play resumed, Swiatek broke, but yet another double fault coupled with more unforced errors brought her opponent back at 1-1. Kostyuk then won the last five games.

Kostyuk had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021, losing to Swiatek.

The 15th-ranked Ukrainian is in a strong run of form and extended her winning streak on clay to 16 matches. Ahead of Roland Garros, she won in Madrid — the biggest title of her career — after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.

Swiatek has not won a title on clay since the 2024 French Open.