Sorana Cîrstea beat Shi Han on Monday in Ningbo, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round of a WTA 500. She is the eighth seed, ranked 17, 36 years old. Shi Han, 21, came through qualifying; Gazeta Sporturilor and Radio România Actualități list her at 177. This is her first win in China in 2026. It is not the title. It is one round.

In Wuhan last week she lost to Hanyu Guo, a wild card, after leading. Agerpres: 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5. GSP: it is her first tour win since the US Open, after a few weeks out. Ningbo is her second Asian hard-court event this year. She is playing it for the first time.

She saved break points in the opening game, went 3-1, dropped a service game to love, then closed the set 6-3. In the second, after three early breaks, she held the rhythm and closed 6-2. The WTA posted the first set on its official account. Cîrstea, on court: a hard match, Shi plays above her ranking, glad to be in round two.

GSP: 16 winners to 10, 22 unforced errors each. Next is the winner of Sara Bejlek (ranked 30–32, depending on the source) and Wang Xinyu / Wang Xiyu. Their match is Tuesday, so it has not been played yet.

She skipped Beijing, still GSP, because of her calf. “I hope to create beautiful memories here in China” — an on-court line, not a retirement notice. GSP speaks of a possible last season; that stays “possible”.

Until a quarter or a final, we have 6-3, 6-2 and round two. The rest is a draw.

Image: Sorana Cîrstea, 21 May 2015, Tatiana (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. Archive photograph, not the Ningbo match.

Sources consulted: Sorana Cîrstea, first tour win since the US Open » Reaches Ningbo round two — Gazeta Sporturilor; Sorana Cîrstea vs Han Shi · Round 1 · WTA Ningbo — Tennis.com.