Romania’s Sorana Cirstea (right) receives congratulations from Aryna Sabalenka following her surprising victory over the Belarusian. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1, suffered her earliest tournament exit in over a year, losing in the third round of the Italian Open to Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea in a thrilling 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 comeback win. Cirstea held her nerve brilliantly to seal the victory, shaking up the clay-court season.
This defeat marks the second straight unexpected loss for Sabalenka, who entered the clay season in career-best form after winning back-to-back WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and Miami. Prior to her quarterfinal exit at the Madrid Open last week—where Hailey Baptiste saved six match points—Sabalenka had started the year by winning 26 of her first 27 matches.
Sabalenka has now failed to reach a semifinal on clay this season, and this is the first time since February 2025 that she has lost before the quarterfinal stage of any tournament. She will head to the French Open with fresh injury concerns after struggling with a lower back problem in the final stages of the match.
For Cirstea, 36, this is the pinnacle of a farewell tour that has seen her produce the best tennis of her long career. Set to retire at the end of the season, she has maintained a high level since the start of the year. Despite spending 17 years near the top of the sport, Cirstea has never cracked the top 20, with her peak ranking of No. 21 in 2013. She now sits at No. 14 in the live WTA Race, and this is the first time she has beaten a world No. 1, having lost all 12 previous sets against top-ranked opponents.
The match seemed unlikely to turn around early on, as Sabalenka cruised through the first set. But Cirstea recovered impressively, playing with fearless aggression in the final two sets, dictating points and forcing an erratic Sabalenka behind the baseline.
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea broke Aryna Sabalenka’s serve three times in the second set. Photograph: Claudia Greco/Reuters
Trailing 3-4 in the deciding set, Sabalenka called a medical timeout for her lower back. Despite visibly struggling, she fought back to level the match at 5-5 after being down 3-5. Cirstea composed herself, regained the momentum, and won the final two games to seal the huge victory.
Although players are required to attend press conferences if requested, Sabalenka’s back injury limited her to brief comments for a WTA representative. “I feel like I didn’t play well from the beginning till the end,” she said. “I started really well, but then I kind of dropped the level. Felt like my body was limiting me from performing on the highest level. She stepped in and played incredible tennis. Didn’t really give me many opportunities. Yeah, that was a tough one. But I guess we never lose; we only learn, so it’s OK.”
Sabalenka said she would use the coming days to address the physical discomfort. “I’d say that probably it’s like my lower back, connected to the hip, which was kind of like limiting me from full rotation.”
