In final season on tour, Cirstea derails Sabalenka's title bid in Rome

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 win against 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 stunning 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 previous 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.

While giving Cirstea full credit for the win, Sabalenka confessed post-match that she "felt like [her] body was limiting [her] from performing on the highest level."

"She stepped in and played incredible tennis," she said. "[She] didn't really give me much opportunities."

"I feel like I didn't play well from the beginning 'til the end. I started really well, but then I kind of dropped the level," she continued. "That was a tough one. But I guess we never lose; we only learn, so it's OK."

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.

"She doesn’t need an introduction," Cirstea said in her on-court interview. "I’m very happy with the win. I thought I played really well today. I’m working really really hard. It’s nice to have this result as payoff."

Currently ranked No. 27, Cirstea is just six spots off her career-high ranking of No. 21 -- a mark she first attained 13 years ago -- and is 25-7 so far this year. With this signature win following a fourth career singles title, won on home soil in Cluj-Napoca in February, might she be reconsidering her decision to call it quits?

No. Well, more accurately -- not quite yet.

"Maybe if I win the tournament, I promise I’ll think about it," she said with a smile. 

"I know the level is there," she added in her post-match press conference. "I know my mind is here and I'm enjoying everything. Like I said, I have so many goals. Every time I step on the court I want to improve.

"In the same time my mind is quite set that at the end of the year, I want to retire. We will see how this year will go. Like a little door is there always open because you never know how things go in life. You always plan things, but then it doesn't always happen like you plan. We will see what life has to offer for me."

There's a long way to go until then. The first order of business is to secure a quarterfinal berth in Rome for the first time in eight career trips to the Italian capital.

Up next, Cirstea will face No. 13 seed Linda Noskova, who topped Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-3 to reach the Round of 16.