Sara Bejlek vs. Sorana Cirstea — Ningbo Open 2026 Round-of-16 Match Report
A few months ago at Wimbledon, Sorana Cirstea ended Sara Bejlek’s run.
In Ningbo, the 20-year-old Czech finally got her answer.
And she had to work for every bit of it.
Bejlek survived a first set that swung repeatedly between them, held her nerve in the tiebreak and then resisted another late Cirstea recovery to win 7-6(3), 6-4.
Only three points separated them across the entire match.
The difference was where Bejlek won hers.
Cirstea Erases One Lead but Cannot Finish the Job
Bejlek struck immediately, breaking Cirstea in the opening game.
Cirstea answered just as quickly.
She broke back for 1-1, held for 2-1 and the set settled into a much more even rhythm.
At 3-3, Bejlek found another opening.
She broke for 4-3 and survived a long service game to move 5-3 ahead.
Again, Cirstea refused to let the set go.
She held for 5-4, then broke Bejlek back for 5-5.
A hold put the Romanian ahead 6-5, but Bejlek did not blink. She held to force the tiebreak.
That was where she finally created some distance.
Bejlek moved 3-0 ahead, saw Cirstea close to 3-4, then won the next three points to take the breaker 7-3.
After all the movement inside the set, the final few points were remarkably one-sided.
Sara Bejlek Has to Win It Twice
The second set was cleaner for a long time.
Both women held through 3-3, with neither finding much space on return.
Bejlek then held for 4-3 and broke Cirstea for 5-3.
Serving for the match should have been the finish.
It was not.
Cirstea broke straight back for 5-4 and briefly threatened another escape.
Bejlek made sure there would not be one.
Instead of serving again, she attacked Cirstea’s next service game and broke once more to close the match 6-4.
No second tiebreak. No third set.
This time, the Czech finished it herself.
Three Points Apart, but Not on the Big Ones
The final numbers explain why the match felt so close.
Bejlek won 87 points.
Cirstea won 84.
Cirstea even finished with the slightly better dominance ratio, 1.02 to 0.98.
But Bejlek was far better when the score tightened.
She won 26 of the 36 pressure points, or 72 percent.
Cirstea managed only 10.
Bejlek also kept the error count under much better control, making 28 unforced errors to Cirstea’s 42, while still producing slightly more winners, 29 to 26.
Full Match Stats Cirstea vs Bejlek
| Cirstea | Statistic | Bejlek |
|---|---|---|
| Full Match Duration: 1h59m | ||
| 1.02 | Dominance Ratio | 0.98 |
| 26 | Winners | 29 |
| 42 | Unforced Errors | 28 |
| 227 | Serve Rating | 257 |
| 1 | Aces | 3 |
| 6 | Double Faults | 1 |
| 54% (37/68) | 1st Serve % | 72% (74/103) |
| 62% (23/37) | 1st Serve Points Won | 58% (43/74) |
| 52% (16/31) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 52% (15/29) |
| 33% (2/6) | Break Points Saved | 67% (6/9) |
| 150 | Return Rating | 189 |
| 42% (31/74) | 1st Return Points Won | 38% (14/37) |
| 48% (14/29) | 2nd Return Points Won | 48% (15/31) |
| 3/9 | Break Points Won | 4/6 |
| 84 | Total Points Won | 87 |
This Time, Bejlek Gets the Last Word
That is what makes this result more than another straight-set win.
Bejlek had already learned what losing to Cirstea felt like at Wimbledon.
In Ningbo, she met the same opponent and found herself in exactly the sort of match where old frustrations could easily return: tight games, lost leads, a first-set tiebreak and another break surrendered when serving for the match.
She did not let any of it drag her away.
At 20, Bejlek has now reversed one of her defeats from earlier in the season and done it by winning the points that mattered most.
Wimbledon belonged to Cirstea.
Ningbo belongs to Bejlek.