Aryna Sabalenka stunned by Sorana Cîrstea

A Rome upset is one thing. A Rome upset involving the world No. 1, a 6-2 first set, and a match that looked over after eight games is something else. That is what Sorana Cîrstea pulled off on May 9, beating Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Italian Open third round after trailing by a set and 2-0. (thestar.com.my) The result matters on its own, but it also scrambles the shape of the tournament and adds a real fitness question over the player who had looked like the most reliable force in women’s tennis this season. (wtatennis.com) ### How big was the upset? Pretty big — both because of the ranking gap and because of how the match started. Sabalenka came in as the top seed and quickly built a 6-2, 2-0 lead, which usually means the match is moving onto rails. (wtatennis.com) Instead, Cîrstea slowed the pace of the collapse, stayed accurate off the ground, and made Sabalenka keep playing extra balls until the errors piled up. ### Why did the match turn? Sabalenka’s level dropped, basically. Her power stopped landing as cleanly, her frustration showed, and Cîrstea got steadier as the rallies stretched out. That shift is the whole match in miniature — one player forcing the issue less cleanly, the other player reading the moment and taking over without panicking. (thestar.com.my) ### Did the injury matter? It looks like it did, at least some. Sabalenka took a medical timeout in the third set, with treatment around her left leg and back, and then said afterward that her body was limiting her from performing at the highest level. But the catch is that she also gave Cîrstea full credit, saying the Romanian stepped in and played incredible tennis and did not offer many openings. (wtatennis.com) ### Why is Cîrstea’s side of this so striking? Because this was not just a seeded player catching fire for an hour. Cîrstea is 36, she said before the season that 2026 would be her last, and she had never beaten a world No. 1 before. In fact, she had never even taken a set from a top-ranked player in six previous tries. (wtatennis.com) So this was the kind of win that lands differently — late-career, against the best player in the draw, from a set and a break down. ### Was this just one weird day? Maybe not. Sabalenka’s loss was only her third of the season, but it was also her earliest tournament exit in more than a year. That matters because the whole story of her 2026 had been relentless control — deep runs, titles, and very few bad afternoons. (wtatennis.com) Rome was supposed to be another step in that pattern. Instead, it broke it. ### What changes in Rome now? The women’s draw gets a lot less top-heavy. When the No. 1 seed leaves early, the psychological map changes for everyone else too — players stop imagining the favorite waiting at the far end and start seeing a path. Cîrstea moved on to the round of 16, where she was set to face Madison Keys, and suddenly her retirement-season run looked a lot more than sentimental. (wtatennis.com) ### What about Roland-Garros? That is the bigger question now. A single clay loss is survivable. A clay loss with visible physical discomfort, right before the French Open, is harder to shrug off. Sabalenka still has the ceiling to reset fast, but Rome turned the conversation from “can anyone stop her?” to “is she fully right?” (wtatennis.com) ### Bottom line? Cîrstea earned the biggest win of her career, not with chaos but with nerve and timing. And Sabalenka’s defeat did more than end one tournament run — it reopened the field and made her health part of the story heading into Paris. (wtatennis.com) (tennismajors.com)