Rome, May 10 -- World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a second defeat in three matches as she was beaten by Sorana Cirstea in the Italian Open third round.
The Belarusian missed six match points in a quarter-final loss to Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open on 28 April in what was just her second defeat of the year. And just 11 days later, Sabalenka's French Open preparations suffered a further blow with a 2-6 6-3 7-5 defeat by Romania's 27th-ranked Cirstea on Saturday.
It is Sabalenka's earliest loss since the Dubai Championships in February 2025, and ends her streak of making the quarter-finals or better for 17 tournaments in a row, according to BBC Sport.
The 28-year-old took a medical time-out late in the third set in Rome for tre...