Cirstea stuns top seed Sabalenka at the Italian Open

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Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 9, 2026 Romania's Sorana Cirstea in action during her round of 32 match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 9, 2026 Romania's Sorana Cirstea celebrates after winning her round of 32 match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 9, 2026 Romania's Sorana Cirstea shakes hands with Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka after winning their round of 32 match REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 9, 2026 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka looks dejected after losing her round of 32 match against Romania's Sorana Cirstea REUTERS/Ciro De Luca

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May 9 : Sorana Cirstea shocked top seed Aryna Sabalenka, beating her 2-6 6-3 7-5 in their third-round clash at the Italian Open on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Romanian, who will retire later this year, beat a world number one for the first time.

Sabalenka started the match well but seemed to be struggling with an injury later on, as she took a medical timeout when Cirstea was leading the third set 4-3.

Cirstea won the next game and was serving for the match, but Sabalenka fought back to make it 5-5. But Cirstea broke again to serve for the match.

Sabalenka, struggling with her backhand returns, hit the net and sent two shots over the baseline, as Cirstea clinched victory.

Source: Reuters

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