Aryna Sabalenka blames injury for shock Italian Open exit as French Open fears mount

Women’s singles world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a second defeat in just three matches at the hands of Sorana Cîrstea during the third round of the Italian Open, with the Belarusian forced to take a medical time-out, raising concerns about her French Open participation.

Sabalenka previously failed to capitalise on six match points in her Madrid Open quarter-final defeat against Hailey Baptiste last month and did not fare any better against Cîrstea in Rome.

On Saturday (May 9), the four-time Grand Slam champion lost 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to the 27th-ranked Romanian, and during the third set was forced to take a medical time-out for treatment on her lower back and hip, creating concerns over her participation in the French Open, which gets underway at Roland Garros in just nine days’ time.

Sabalenka’s performance was sloppy, with the world No.1 struggling to hide her frustration at her poor showing, appearing to mutter to herself throughout the contest.

The 28-year-old did not appear at her post-match press conference, although she did address her injury when speaking to the WTA Tour, claiming she felt “like [her] body was limiting [her] from performing at the highest level”.

When asked about the issue, she said: “I’d say that probably it’s like my lower back, connected to the hip, which was kind of limiting me from full rotation. I guess we are just going to have some days off. We’re going to spend it on recovery. That’s the plan, I believe, for now.”

Meanwhile, Cîrstea, who is retiring at the end of the season, was quick to praise her opponent after her shock triumph.

“She doesn’t need an introduction,” the Romanian said.

“I’m very happy with the win. I thought I played really well today. I’m working really, really hard. It’s nice to have this result as payoff.”

Cîrstea faces world No.13 Linda Noskova in the round of 32.

Sabalenka leads list of stars affected by French Open fitness worries

Sabalenka is the second big name to exit the Italian Open in the early rounds after Novak Djokovic also suffered a shock defeat against 20-year-old Croatian Dino Prižmić in his second-round match on Friday (May 8).

Djokovic also spoke of physical difficulties after the match, saying: “I don’t recall the last time in the last couple of years I had a preparation where I didn’t have any kind of physical or health issues coming into a tournament. There’s always something – a kind of new reality that I have to deal with. It is frustrating. At the same time, it’s my decision to still perform in that kind of state and conditions. It is what it is.”

World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz has already confirmed he’ll miss the French Open due to a wrist injury.