A major shock rocked the women’s draw at the Rome tennis tournament. World number one Aryna Sabalenka was eliminated on Saturday, falling to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in a match filled with momentum swings and marred by the Belarusian’s physical struggles.
Sabalenka appeared to have the contest under control after taking the first set and building an advantage in the second, but Cirstea mounted a timely comeback, completing a gutsy three-set reversal.
The Romanian grew stronger from the baseline as the match progressed, capitalizing on the discomfort Sabalenka began showing in the latter stages. Indeed, the top seed required a medical timeout as the match entered its decisive phase.
The defeat is a significant setback for the Belarusian, who arrived in Rome as one of the heavy favorites despite her recent quarterfinal exit at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Her start to the season, however, had been spectacular, capturing the Sunshine Double by winning at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Despite the stumble, Sabalenka will retain the world number one ranking after the tournament and will reach 90 weeks atop the WTA rankings.
For Cirstea, this marks one of the biggest wins of her season, propelling her into the fourth round in Rome for the third time in her career. The Romanian, currently ranked 27th in the world, also notches her third WTA 1000 fourth-round appearance this year following strong runs in Dubai and Miami.
She will now face Czech Linda Noskova in pursuit of a deeper run at the Italian event.
