Cirstea defeats No. 1 Sabalenka at Italian Open

In Rome, Sorana Cirstea pulled off the biggest upset of the Italian Open so far, defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the third round on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Romanian, ranked 26th and in her final professional season before retiring at the end of 2026, claimed her first career victory over a world number one. Cirstea trailed after dropping the opening set and falling behind 2-0 in the second but won six of the next seven games to seize momentum. She served for the match at 5-4 in the decider but was broken; she immediately broke back and closed it out on her first match point when Sabalenka netted a backhand return.

Sabalenka, the pretournament favorite, took a medical timeout for a lower back issue, possibly connected to her hip, while down 4-3 in the third set. Her movement appeared limited afterward, and she won just 59 percent of first-serve points overall after dominating that category in the opener. "Felt like my body was limiting me from performing on the highest level," Sabalenka said. "She stepped in and played incredible tennis. Didn't really give me much opportunities... Probably it's my lower back, connected to the hip, which is limiting...