Aryna Sabalenka suffered one of the biggest shocks of her career as she suffered an early exit at the Italian Open.
Sabalenka was the top seed at the WTA 1000 tournament, which she started by beating Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
But she faced a stern test against Sorana Cirstea in the third round of the Italian Open, where the world number one was beaten 6-2, 3-6, 5-7.
The Romanian 26th seed, who is playing her final season on the WTA Tour before retiring, now meets Linda Noskova in the round of 16.
Meanwhile Sabalenka leaves the Italian capital with lessons to be learned, but notably with a positive attitude.
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Aryna Sabalenka stays upbeat despite early Italian Open exit
Sharing images of her time at the Italian Open, Sabalenka posted on her Instagram: “Not every story ends the way you want, but every chapter teaches you something.
“Rome, thank you for the love.
“Ciao bella, see you soon.”
It’s a great attitude from Sabalenka, who has taken her record for the season to 27-3 after one win and one loss in Rome.
She started her 2026 campaign by lifting the trophy in Brisbane, before back-to-back WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and Miami.
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Aryna Sabalenka should be eager to improve her return before the French Open
With two aces, one double fault and a 71.7% first serve figure, Sabalenka won’t be too disappointed with her serving efforts.
But she may decide to work on her return as the French Open nears, having continued her disappointing displays in that area against Cirstea.
She won 43.8% of her first return points and 48.9% of her second return points, and was outshone in both areas by her opponent.
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And while her busy season must be considered, she ranks 44th for return points won and 54th for return games won on the WTA Tour, with figures of 44.8% and 36.7% respectively.
With a quarterfinal exit in Madrid before Rome, it hasn’t been a strong showing on clay thus far, but Sabalenka can gain some form of confidence for Roland Garros by remembering her lengthy run last time out.
The Belarusian battled her way to the final of the 2025 French Open, where she seemed destined to claim the top prize before losing 7-6(7-5), 2-6, 4-6 to Coco Gauff.
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