Sorana Cirstea upsets Aryna Sabalenka in Rome for first victory over No. 1

Field Level Media|published: Sat 9th May, 16:47 2026 Tennis: BNP Paribas Open-Day 8

Sorana Cirstea has announced she will retire after the season but the 36-year-old Romanian sure isn’t just cruising through tournaments in the meantime.

Cirstea defeated a world No. 1 for the first time since turning professional in 2006 when she rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday in an Italian Open third-round match in Rome.

“I’m very, very happy,” Cirstea said. “Aryna is an amazing player. I thought I played really well today. I’m working really, really hard. It’s nice to have this result as payoff.”

Cirstea’s previous highest-ranked victory was also over Sabalenka, when the latter was No. 2 in the world in 2023. That upset came in the Miami Open quarterfinals.

Cirstea won her fourth career title earlier this year when she prevailed in a tournament in Romania. She isn’t playing like someone winding down her career as she improved her record to 25-7 this season.

But she said her stellar play hasn’t led her to question the retirement decision.

“Maybe if I win the tournament, I promise I’ll think about it,” Cirstea said with a smile.

Sabalenka sailed through the opening set before the tide turned.

She was dealing with pain in her lower back and even used a medical timeout while losing 4-3 in the final set.

“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. … But I guess we never lose, we only learn, so it’s OK.

“Probably it’s my lower back, connected to the hip, which is limiting me from the full rotation.”

While Sabalenka turns her focus to mending her body, Cirstea moves on to face No. 13 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia. Noskova sailed to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova on Saturday.

In another upset, No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium took over No. 9 Jasmine Paolini of Italy 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Mertens had a 3-0 edge in aces and converted 5 of 8 break points.

No. 3 Coco Gauff recovered from a slow start to post a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Solana Sierra. No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia fought off Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 win.

Also, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Zheng Qinwen of China.

–Field Level Media

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