In December, Sorana Cirstea announced that the 2026 season — her 20th on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz — would be her last. In an emotional Instagram post, the 36-year-old Romanian announced her impending retirement, and said that she hoped to go out “on a high note and on [her] terms.”
Rome: Scores | Draws | Order of play
On Saturday in Rome, she might’ve reached the highest note a professional player can — a stunning 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 triumph over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
In two decades on tour, Cirstea had scored 24 career Top 20 wins — a whopping total for a player who never cracked the Top 20 in the PIF WTA Rankings herself. But none of those came against a player ranked World No. 1. In fact, Cirstea had never won a set in six prior matches against a top-ranked opponent — including a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Sabalenka at the Brisbane International in January.
And at 6-2, 2-0 for Sabalenka, it seemed like that trend would continue for Cirstea.
Until it didn’t.
Sabalenka’s level dipped, and the veteran had the experience to take advantage. She eventually completed the comeback in 2 hours and 14 minutes, breaking Sabalenka three times in the final set. The top seed also required a medical timeout for what appeared to be a lower-back injury midway through the decider.
The defeat, just Sabalebka’s third loss to anyone this season, marks her earliest exit from a tournament in more than a year. She last lost before the quarterfinals at the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she was beaten by Clara Tauson.
More to come…