Sorana Cirstea Complains to Umpire About Shouts Coming from Coco Gauff’s Box During Madrid Clash

Coco Gauff became the latest victim of the stomach virus that forced former Madrid champion Iga Swiatek to withdraw from her third-round match.

Sorana Cirstea Complains to Umpire About Shouts Coming from Coco Gauff’s Box During Madrid Clash

Sorana Cirstea complains to the chair umpire about Coco Gauff's team (Image via X/Univers Tennis, Z kortu - informacje tenisowe)

In Short
  • Coco Gauff overcame illness to win against Sorana Cirstea in the Madrid Open, securing a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory.
  • Sorana Cirstea complained to the umpire about distractions from Gauff's box, labeling it as bad sportsmanship.
  • Gauff vomited during the match and required a medical timeout due to a stomach virus affecting players at the tournament.

Third seed Coco Gauff battled illness during her third-round clash with Sorana Cirstea at the Madrid Open, held on Sunday (April 26). She overcame a set deficit to secure a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory and booked a berth in the fourth round.

The win helped the two-time Grand Slam singles champion improve her head-to-head record over the 36-year-old player to 3-0. During the break after the seventh game of the first set, the Romanian player started complaining to chair umpire Kader Nouni about the shouts coming from Gauff’s box as she was getting distracted by them. She could be heard saying, “it’s bad sportsmanship“.

Here’s the video:

Cirstea, a two-time quarterfinalist in the Spanish capital, played in the tournament for the final time as she will be calling time on her career after the 2026 season. She is a one-time finalist in a WTA 1000 tournament, reaching the stage at the 2013 Canadian Open and losing the match to 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.

The American ace, the runner-up to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid final, is chasing her first title of the season. The last time she won a title was at the 2025 Wuhan Open.

Gauff has so far featured in one final this year, at the Miami Open, losing the match to Sabalenka, with the win making the Belarusian the fifth woman to complete the Sunshine Double. The 22-year-old will next be locking horns with Linda Noskova, who received the walkover from Liudmila Samsonova as the Russian withdrew due to illness. Gauff holds a 2-0 head-to-head lead over the Czech ace.

Coco Gauff vomits on court during her match against Sorana Cirstea

Coco Gauff was the latest victim of a stomach virus that has been affecting the players at Caja Magica. The virus forced former Madrid Open champion and six-time Major champion Iga Swiatek to hand the walkover to Ann Li in the third round. It also forced Marin Cilic to withdraw from his second-round match against Joao Fonseca.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (via Punto de Break)

During the match against Sorana Cirstea, Gauff vomited in a bin and also called for a medical timeout during which the physios checked her vitals.

Yeah, I don’t know, honestly (how I got through that). I was just trying to finish the match, and one point turned into another. I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So, I’m just going to try to push through for tomorrow. I pulled out in Indian Wells. I’m not someone who likes to pull out, so I didn’t want to pull out again today.

Coco Gauff said during her on-court interview

Gauff, a three-time WTA 1000 champion, has so far played two finals on clay at this level. After her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final last year, she lost to home favorite Jasmine Paolini in the Italian Open final.

So, I’m glad that I was able to get through it. I did start to feel better, not feeling like I had to throw up. They gave me some pills, so that definitely helped. But I was really tired… The first part was literally just trying to keep whatever I ate down. Once they gave me something to help with that, then I was just nauseous and tired. But I can deal with that.

Coco Gauff added

Before arriving in Madrid, Gauff suffered a quarterfinal exit at the Stuttgart Open, losing to eventual runner-up Karolina Muchova. She will be playing in the fourth round in Madrid for the third consecutive time.

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