Better to Be Beautiful than No.1 in the World - Cirstea Hits out at Adidas

The Romanian says Adidas preferred looks to ranking. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Sorana Cirstea has spent a career battling for elite status on the WTA Tour. The 32-year-old from Romania, currently ranked 38, topped out at 21 in the WTA rankings, but she’s always a threat. She owns 16 top-10 wins and 42 against the top-20.



According to Cirstea, her former sponsor, Adidas, didn’t care much about the quality of her wins or the exact number of her ranking. They just wanted her to be beautiful.

Cirstea says that Adidas placed more emphasis on her looks than her ranking.

𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 revelations from Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea pic.twitter.com/N6cnvvFfTX

— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 31, 2022

"I remember, for example, when I had a contract with Adidas, considering that I look fairly good for an athlete, they were telling me that it's better to look good and be in the top 20 than to not look that good and be No. 1," Cirstea said, in comments translated by ESPN from the podcast “La Fileu.”

"When you are in the top 20 you are seen anyway, you are there at every tournament, and they were telling me it's better to be beautiful in top 10, top 20 than less beautiful and No. 1. "Of course, you realise they have their own quotas, it's a market."

Cirstea is now sponsored by New Balance. She went 21-20 in 2022, reaching the second week at the Australian Open.
Read More