Aryana Sabalenka suffers earliest tournament exit in 15 months with Italian Open loss

Aryana Sabalenka suffers earliest tournament exit in 15 months with Italian Open loss

ROME — Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1, has suffered her earliest tournament exit in 15 months after a third-round defeat to Sorana Cîrstea at the Italian Open.

Sabalenka appeared on course for a routine win on Saturday when a set and 2-0 up, but some erratic hitting and an inspired opponent conspired to leave Sabalenka coming to terms with only a third defeat of the year. She also required a medical timeout for what appeared to be a lower-back injury midway through the third set. A potential concern with the French Open getting under way in a couple of weeks on May 24.

You have to go back to the February 2025 Qatar Open for the last time Sabalenka lost earlier in a tournament, and to the Dubai Tennis Championships the same month for the last time she didn’t make the quarterfinals of an event. Coupled with last week’s Madrid Open quarterfinal loss to Hayley Baptiste, Sabalenka has lost two of her last three matches — almost out of nowhere.

As inconsistent as Sabalenka was, Cîrstea deserves a huge amount of credit for playing so fearlessly to ultimately prevail 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. It’s not uncommon for Sabalenka to perform sluggishly in the early rounds of tournaments, but she is almost always able to find a way through, normally in straight sets. To stand a chance, Cîrstea had to refuse to be intimidated by Sabalenka’s phenomenally powerful hitting and considerable aura.

Fortunately for Cîrstea, defiance is one of her defining characteristics. Aged 36 and in her final year on the tour, the Romanian world No. 27 has built a reputation as a fearsome competitor. At the Australian Open in January, she complained to the umpire about Naomi Osaka saying “come on” to herself between her first and second serves and then gave the four-time Grand Slam champion a very frosty handshake after losing the match.

Cîrstea needed that defiance to drag herself back into the match when down 6-2, 2-0 and looking as though she was heading for a swift defeat. At this point her suddenly immaculate ballstriking helped her take over the match, neutralising Sabalenka’s serve and dominating from the baseline with the accuracy and weight of her shots. From the first to the second set, Sabalenka went from winning 68 per cent of her first serve points to 39. Sabalenka ended the match with a tally of 59 per cent first serve points won, her lowest of the year.