Sabalenka falls early in Rome after an upset loss to Cirstea
Aryna Sabalenka’s run at the Italian Open came to an unexpected halt after she was knocked out by Sorana Cirstea in the third round.
Sabalenka, who entered the tournament as the top seed, had started well with a straight-sets win over Barbora Krejcikova. But against Cirstea, she couldn’t maintain that momentum.
The world number one took the first set comfortably enough before fading, losing 6-2, 3-6, 5-7 to Cirstea. The result gives Cirstea a shot at Linda Noskova next as she continues her final season on tour before retirement.
It wasn’t what Sabalenka had hoped for from her time in Rome. Still, she appeared upbeat despite the result and focused on learning from it.
Sabalenka reflects positively after early exit from Rome
Following her early departure from the Italian Open, Sabalenka took to Instagram to share her thoughts, posting: “Not every story ends the way you want, but every chapter teaches you something.
“Rome, thank you for the love. Ciao bella, see you soon.”
Despite the setback, Sabalenka maintains a strong 27-3 record for the season and has started 2026 on a high note.
She kicked off her year by winning in Brisbane and followed that up with consecutive WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and Miami.
Sabalenka might need to sharpen her return game ahead of Roland Garros
Sabalenka finished the match with two aces, one double fault, and a solid 71.7% first serve percentage. While her serving numbers were decent, her return game still looked flat.
She won just 43.8% of first return points and 48.9% of second returns, both below what she needed on the day.
And those numbers have been a trend this year. Sabalenka ranks 44th on tour for return points won at 44.8%, and just 54th in return games won at 36.7%. Both are well below where she’d like them to be.
Her clay season hasn’t hit full stride yet, either. After a quarterfinal exit in Madrid and an early loss in Rome, it’s been a slow start.
The Belarusian made it all the way to last year’s final, coming up just short against Coco Gauff in three sets: 7-6(7-5), 2-6, 4-6.
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