Romanian tennis ace Sorana Cirstea is urgently seeking the return of a trophy that she claims was stolen from her hotel room in New York City. The 35-year-old athlete recently celebrated her third career WTA singles title, her first since 2021, after triumphing at the Tennis in the Land championship in Cleveland on August 23.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Cirstea, currently ranked 57th in the world, implored, “If anyone has taken my Cleveland trophy from room 314 at The Fifty Sonesta, please return it. It holds no monetary worth, but is incredibly sentimental! Your kindness would truly mean a lot. Thank you!”
The glass trophy was awarded to Cirstea just a day before she participated in the prestigious US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York. Unfortunately, her journey in the tournament came to an early end, as she was defeated in the second round of singles by 11th seed Karolina Muchova, and also lost in the first round of doubles alongside partner Anna Kalinskaya. This was particularly disheartening given their recent victory at the Madrid Open earlier this year.
The situation has only been exacerbated by the missing trophy, creating an emotional setback for the Romanian tennis star during an already challenging time. BBC Sport has reached out to the hotel management for their perspective on the incident.