Italian Open: Aryna Sabalenka loses to Sorana Cirstea in third round, Jasmine Paolini out
BBC • • sports
Key Points:
- World number one Aryna Sabalenka was defeated by Sorana Cirstea in the Italian Open third round, marking her second loss in three matches.
- Sabalenka missed six match points in a recent quarter-final loss to Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open, which was only her second defeat of the year.
- The 28-year-old's loss to Cirstea, ranked 27th, ended her streak of reaching at least the quarter-finals in 17 consecutive tournaments.
- Sabalenka took a medical time-out for lower back treatment during the match and admitted her body was limiting her performance.
- With this defeat, Sabalenka enters the French Open with a clay-court record of four wins and two losses this season, following a runner-up finish last year.
