Playing the final season of her career, 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea recorded her first victory over a reigning world No. 1, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
When she announced in December 2025 that the 2026 season would be her last on tour, Cirstea wrote: “I still have lots of things I want to improve, I have goals and ambitions, so I hope to be able to achieve some of them next year and finish this wonderful career on a high note and on my terms.” Saturday’s 2-6 6-3 7-5 triumph over Sabalenka may stand as the perfect high point of the Romanian’s 20-year professional career.
Cirstea had never previously won a set in six matches against a top-ranked player, including a 6-3 6-3 loss to Sabalenka at the Brisbane International in January. Today in Rome, after cruising through the opening set and moving ahead by a break in the second, Sabalenka appeared firmly on course for another routine win.
However, the match turned sharply as the top seed’s level dropped and Cirstea capitalized on the opportunity. The Romanian completed the comeback after 2 hours and 14 minutes, reeling off six of the final seven games of the second set after trailing 2-0, before breaking serve three times in the tense decider.
This is Sabalenka’s earliest exit from a tournament in more than a year.
Currently ranked No. 27, Cirstea is enjoying one of the best seasons of her career, compiling a 25-7 record and moving within six spots of her career-high ranking of No. 21, which she first achieved 13 years ago. Although this was her first victory over a reigning world No. 1, it was not her first win against Sabalenka. Cirstea previously defeated the Belarusian in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Miami Open, when Sabalenka was ranked No. 2 in the world.
One of Cirstea’s four career WTA singles titles came on clay, at the 2021 Istanbul Cup, where she defeated Elise Mertens in the final. (via: WTA, photos: Jimmie48)
