One of the most prominent Romanian tennis players, Sorana Cirstea, has criticized the Romanian government's lack of support for its athletes.
Cirstea is a veteran on the WTA Tour. She turned pro in 2006 and is playing in her 19th season at the top level in 2024. In the past, she has been ranked as high as World No. 21.
The 34-year-old enjoyed a late-career resurgence last season, reaching the Miami Open semifinal ranked 74th in the world rankings. She also advanced into her second Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2009 at the US Open with victories over Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic.
Cirstea has won two WTA titles, which, truthfully, doesn't reflect the true value of her talent. She has beaten the Top 10 players on 23 occasions and has conjured over 500 victories at all levels.
This season, Cirstea has struggled to hit the heights of 2023, in which she finished with a year-end ranking of No. 26. She revealed during an Instagram post that she is suffering from a severe form of plantar fasciitis, which is characterized by intense pain and inflammation on the foot.
She has lost her last six matches and hasn't played since Wimbledon, as she announced her indefinite break from the sport. But in her absence, Cirstea, who watched the Olympic Games from her home, laid bare the challenges faced by athletes in reaching their potential.
In a long post on her Instagram page, the former World No. 21 opined that Romanian athletes had exceeded expectations because of their "unnatural" ability to perform and could not rely on support from the government, who happily take credit for their success.
"Everyone is happy and proud when a Romanian athlete achieves a performance. Unfortunately, for 30 years no investment has been made and no conditions have been created for Romanian sport. We got to enjoy and live the ecstasy of exceptions, of unique unnatural performances. In every competition we are "David" against Goliath."
Romania, which has a population of close to 20 million, has only produced a dearth of tennis greats. Simona Halep remains the country's sole Grand Slam singles champion in the 21st century.
On the men's side, the picture is even grimmer as the current Romanian No. 1 on the ATP tour is ranked World No. 237 as of August 8th, 2024 (Filip Cristian Jianu), and success was mostly been in doubles courtesy of Horia Tecau.
Cirstea highlighted the "deplorable" training conditions that leave much to be desired and how less developed nations than Romania have invested heavily in sports to achieve an "identity level" on the world stage.
"Much smaller or less developed countries than ours have understood the fact that sport is the best business card through which a people creates an identity at a global level. Regarding any sport in Romania, the training conditions are deplorable, maybe even humiliating."
The two-time WTA titlist stated that she was not only pulling back the curtain on matters of tennis but on the dirt that has been manifested in other sports federations in her country. She believes the situation will be even darker in a few years as she is not expecting change.
"In this paragraph we are not talking about tennis, as we are privileged compared to 99% of Romanian athletes. We manage in one way or another, so what I'm trying to point out represents the other dozens of federations. We are a big country with a small boat, and in a few years (not decades) we will only have a lifeline left."
"I don't expect anything to change, but having several thousand matches with the Romanian flag on the scoreboard, I consider that I have won the right to call things by their names.
"I would conclude by repeating that I am not asking for anything personally, but I do not hesitate to say that I thank all the athletes in that boat and the tens of thousands of young people who were drowned due to the local conditions, before reaching the pier!"
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