Aryna Sabalenka arrived at the Italian Open with a chance to sharpen her clay-court form before Roland Garros. She leaves Rome with a more urgent concern: whether her body will allow her to enter Paris at full strength.
The world No. 1 was stunned in the third round by Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, falling 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 after appearing in control early. The loss was already a major upset. What followed made it more significant. Sabalenka revealed that a lower-back and hip issue had limited her movement and rotation during the match, turning her French Open preparation into one of the biggest storylines of the women’s draw.
“I’d say that probably it’s like my lower back, connected to the hip, which kind of like is limiting me from the full rotation,” Sabalenka said after the defeat. “I guess we’re just going to have some days off. We’re going to spend it on recovery.”
For a player whose game depends on violent acceleration through the ball, full-body rotation is not a small detail. Sabalenka’s serve, forehand and backhand all rely on power generated from the hips and core. On clay, where rallies stretch longer and points demand repeated sliding, twisting and recovery steps, even a minor limitation can become a major problem.
The timing is especially uncomfortable. Roland Garros begins May 24, leaving Sabalenka with less than two weeks to recover, rebuild rhythm and adjust to Paris conditions. She has been one of the most consistent players in the world over the past two seasons, but the clay swing has not given her the clean runway she wanted before the year’s second Grand Slam.
Against Cirstea, Sabalenka looked ready to move through the match quickly. She took the opening set 6-2 and led 2-0 in the second before the match turned. Cirstea, 36, settled into the rallies, absorbed Sabalenka’s pace and gradually forced the top seed into longer, more uncomfortable exchanges.
By the third set, Sabalenka was clearly fighting more than her opponent. She took a medical timeout, battled back to 5-5, but could not complete the recovery. Cirstea closed out one of the biggest wins of her career and recorded her first victory over a world No. 1.
For Sabalenka, the result ends her Rome campaign earlier than expected and adds uncertainty to what had been one of the most important stretches of her season. She has built her status at the top of the women’s game on consistency, physical dominance and an ability to overwhelm opponents from the first ball. But the margins change quickly when a player cannot rotate freely or trust her movement.
The French Open has already been the major where Sabalenka still has the most to prove. Her power can translate to clay, but Paris demands patience, balance and problem-solving under pressure. A compromised hip or lower back would make that task far more difficult, especially across best-of-three-set matches against opponents willing to defend, extend points and test her movement.
Sabalenka did not suggest she was in danger of missing Roland Garros. Her immediate plan is recovery, not withdrawal. Still, her comments will draw close attention in the coming days. Every practice session, movement update and public appearance before Paris will now be viewed through the same question: can she get healthy in time?
For Cirstea, the win is a major late-career moment. For Sabalenka, it is a warning. Rome was supposed to be a final clay-court tune-up. Instead, it became a reminder that Grand Slam hopes can shift quickly when the body starts sending signals two weeks too soon.
