Sabalenka's Italian Open Campaign Ends in Third Round
World number one Aryna Sabalenka experienced her second loss in three matches as she was defeated by Sorana Cirstea in the third round of the Italian Open.
The Belarusian player had previously missed six match points in a quarter-final defeat to Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open on 28 April, marking only her second loss of the year.
Just 11 days later, Sabalenka's preparations for the French Open were further disrupted by a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat to Romania's Sorana Cirstea, who is ranked 27th in the world.
This marks Sabalenka's earliest exit since the Dubai Championships in February 2025 and ends her streak of reaching at least the quarter-finals in 17 consecutive tournaments.
The 28-year-old took a medical time-out late in the third set in Rome to receive treatment for her lower back but appeared below her best for much of the match.
As a result, Sabalenka enters this month's French Open with a clay-court record of four wins and two losses.
Last year, Sabalenka was defeated by Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final, during which she committed 70 unforced errors and described her performance as
"the worst final I ever played".
Match Details and Performance Analysis
Sabalenka was twice a set and a break ahead against the veteran Cirstea, who has announced her retirement at the end of the season.
She also broke Cirstea's serve when the Romanian was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but immediately lost the advantage in the following game.
Sabalenka's serve, which has been the most improved aspect of her game and a key factor in her rise to the top of the rankings, was broken six times during the match.
She made 72% of her first serves but won only 56% of points on her first serve and managed to win just 11 of 26 points on her second serve.
At one point, Sabalenka was visibly frustrated, slapping at a ball after losing five consecutive games, which resulted in conceding the second set and falling an immediate break behind in the deciding set.
She responded in the next game; however, her service games remained unstable, and a wide forehand gave Cirstea the break lead at 3-2.
Sabalenka called for the trainer and had her back stretched at 4-3 down. She then appeared to be mounting a comeback after stopping Cirstea from serving out the match at the first opportunity.
Nevertheless, Cirstea returned strongly to regain the lead and converted her first match point with a long Sabalenka return.
Other Tournament Highlights
Earlier in the tournament, defending champion and home favorite Jasmine Paolini was defeated 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 by Belgium's Elise Mertens.
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