3 weeks ago
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Romania's Sorana Cirstea has issued a plea for the return of the trophy from her title-winning run at last week's tournament in Cleveland after discovering that it had gone missing from her hotel room in New York.
Cirstea warmed up for the US Open by beating American Ann Li in the Tennis in the Land tournament final last Saturday, before losing to Karolina Muchova in the second round of the year's final Grand Slam on Thursday.
Adding to the disappointment was the disappearance of the Cleveland trophy - her first hardcourt singles title since 2008 - from her room in the Fifty Sonesta Hotel and the world No 57 took to social media in a bid to get it back.
'Whoever stole my Cleveland trophy from room 314 at @thefiftysonesta please give it back,' the 35-year-old wrote.
'It has no material value, just sentimental value! It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.'
The Daily Mail has contacted the hotel for comment.
Sorana Cirstea lifts her trophy aloft in Cleveland, but it has now been stolen from her hotel room
Cirstea (pictured) was beaten in the second round of this year's US Open by Karolina Muchova
Cirstea scooped $154,000 for reaching the second round of the women's singles at Flushing Meadows and will share a $30,000 prize after she and partner Anna Kalinskaya were dumped out of the women's doubles in the first round.
The alleged burglary incident is not the first off-field drama to dominate proceedings at the US Open this year, with several bizarre moments occurring through the tournament.
Last week, Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko became embroiled in a racism scandal after accusing black American player Taylor Townsend of having 'no education and no class' at the end of their match.
A few days later, a fan hit the headlines and became 'the most hated man in New York' after stealing a player's cap from a young boy as he handed it into the crowd.
The tennis star posted a statement on her Instagram account urging the public to help
The US Open has been shrouded in controversy, with Jelena Ostapenko (R) in a racism storm
He was later outed and the boy received a haul of goodies from Kamil Majchrzak, the player in question.
On Saturday, Karolina Muchova then revealed that she was left in tears on court after spotting one of her ex-boyfriends in the crowd during her second round match - against Cirstea, no less.
'Well… it wasn't tennis-related,' she said in her native Czech, via The Athletic, when asked the reason for her tears. 'So l don't really like talking about it. But opposite my bench, my ex-boyfriend sat down.
'He sometimes shows up at places where he shouldn't be. That startled me a bit. I told him to leave, he didn't, but later he did go. It was hard to focus in that moment.'
