Aryna Sabalenka’s preparation for the French Open has suffered a blow after she made her earliest tournament exit for 15 months in Rome on Saturday.
The world No.1 was broken six times during her surprise 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who was on a seven-match losing streak against top 10 players. Sabalenka was leading by a set and a break before struggling with her serve, which resulted in her getting broken four times in a row between the second and third sets. It is her earliest exit from a tournament since the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships.
“I feel like I didn’t play well from the beginning till the end,” Sabalenka told The WTA.
“I started really well, but then I kind of dropped the level. I felt like my body was limiting me from performing on the highest level.
“She (Cirstea) stepped in and played incredible tennis. Didn’t really give me much opportunities.”
Sabalenka required a medical timeout during the decider, when she was down 3-4, due to what appeared to be a lower back issue. After the match, she confirmed the problem had been affecting her movement on the court. Although it is unclear how serious the issue is heading into the next Grand Slam, which will begin later this month.
“I’d say that probably it’s like my lower back, connected to the hip, which kind of limits me from the full rotation,” she replied when asked about her injury issue.
“I guess we (Sabalenka’s team) are just going to have some days off. We’re going to spend it on recovery. That’s the plan I believe for now.”
Cirstea has caused problems for Sabalenka in the past, beating her at the 2023 Miami Open when she was ranked No.2 in the world. The 36-year-old is the fifth-oldest woman to beat a world No.1 player on the WTA Tour in the Open Era after Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.
“She’s a fighter. It’s kind of like it’s sad to see her leaving because I feel like she’s one of those players that’s fighting no matter what,” Sabalenka said of Cirstea, who will retire later this year.
“I felt like she could stay for longer.”
Despite her age, Cirstea is currently 27th in the world and only six places off her career-high, set back in 2013. Since January, she has won the Transylvania Open and has an overall win-loss record of 23-7 on the Tour.
“Everyone has been asking me, like, ‘You cannot retire, you cannot retire!’ and I mean, again, at this moment, my mind is set. But we will see what I can achieve this year and again, even if this is my last year, I still have a lot of goals and things to improve, and I go every day on the court with a plan,” Cirstea told Sky Sports.
“For me, this is what gets me going every day, even if I’m at my age and last year, I still think I can improve so many things. Again, I feel I found that balance, I’m very grateful to tennis a and also very grateful for everything I’m experiencing.”
Cirstea will next play Linda Noskova.
