Aryna Sabalenka shock exit 6-2,5-7

Aryna Sabalenka’s Rome exit matters for two reasons at once. The obvious one is the upset — world No. 1 players are not supposed to lose from a set and a break up to a 36-year-old opponent in the third round of a WTA 1000. The bigger one is the body language behind it. Sabalenka left the Italian Open after a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss to Sorana Cirstea, and she said afterward that her lower back and hip were limiting her rotation with Roland Garros starting on May 24. ### How did this match flip? At the start, it looked routine. Sabalenka took the first set 6-2 and moved ahead 2-0 in the second, which is usually the part where she buries people with pace. But Cirstea hung in rallies, kept taking the ball early, and turned the match into something messier and more physical. By the end, Cirstea had won 94 of 185 total points — just enough edge in a very live match. (wtatennis.com) ### Why is Cirstea the surprise here? Because this was not just a seeded player beating another seeded player. Cirstea is 36, in the final season of her career, and this was her first win over a reigning world No. 1. That gives the result real weight. It was not only Sabalenka playing below her best — Cirstea stayed aggressive long enough to make the comeback stick. (wtatennis.com) ### What was going on physically? Sabalenka took treatment late in the match and later pointed to a lower-back issue connected to the hip. Her explanation was pretty clear — the pain was limiting full rotation. For a player whose game depends on explosive serving and violent first-strike forehands, that is not some minor inconvenience. It cuts right into the engine of her tennis. (aljazeera.com) ### Why does “rotation” matter so much? Because Sabalenka’s power is built from the ground up. The serve, the forehand, even the heavy backhand when she is stepping in — all of it depends on her trunk unwinding cleanly. If the back and hip are tight, timing goes first, then control, then confidence. You saw that version in Rome — early authority, then patches of rushed errors and visible frustration. (aljazeera.com) ### Is this just one bad day? Maybe — but probably not only that. She has now lost two of her last three matches after the quarterfinal defeat to Hailey Baptiste in Madrid. That does not erase the bigger picture, which is still strong: titles in Brisbane, Indian Wells, and Miami, plus an Australian Open final. But it does change the feel of her clay swing from “fine-tuning” to “problem-solving.” (aljazeera.com) ### Does this change the French Open picture? It changes the conversation more than the actual odds — at least for now. Sabalenka still has the level to win anywhere, and two weeks can matter a lot if the issue is muscular rather than structural. But the catch is that Paris is the most physically demanding major on the calendar. If the back and hip are still limiting rotation, every long clay-court exchange gets more expensive. (aljazeera.com) ### So what matters next? Recovery, basically. Sabalenka said the plan was to take days off and focus on getting right for Paris. That sounds sensible, but it also means there is no more match evidence coming before Roland Garros to reassure anyone. The next real update will be whether she looks free-moving when the tournament starts. (aljazeera.com) The bottom line is simple. The loss to Cirstea was a genuine shock, but the injury concern is the real story now. If Sabalenka’s body settles down, this becomes a strange Rome blip. If it does not, the women’s draw in Paris opens up fast. (aljazeera.com)