In a glorious career spanning two decades, Sorana Cirstea added one of the most spectacular victories of her entire career in her final season on tour. The Romanian came back from an early setback to register a victory against the world number one (2-6, 6-3,7-5), Aryna Sabalenka, and she couldn’t help but have mixed feelings about her last dance on the back of this victory.

Cirstea, who has four WTA titles so far in her career, announced last year that she would retire after the conclusion of the 2026 season, still looks as great as ever on the court. She had captured the Transylvania Open title earlier in February and had a valiant run at the Rouen Open, where she reached the semis. So, it wasn’t a surprise when the 36-year-old was asked if she had given a second thought to retirement after her victory over Sabalenka. In response, Cirstea made a promise to the huge crowd present at the Campo Centrale.

“Maybe if I win the tournament, I promise I’ll think about it,” she said during her post-match interview.

One word to describe the match between Cirstea and Sabalenka would be grueling. Both players gave it their all on the court and broke each other’s serve six times each. Sabalenka made a strong start to the match and captured the first set comfortably before taking a 2-0 lead in the second set. But Cirstea turned the match on its head by winning six out of the next seven games.

Sabalenka had lost all her momentum by the deciding set, and she was chasing Cirstea for most of the time. The latter earned the chance to serve for the match at 5-4, but the World No. 1 refused to go down easily. The Belarusian managed to break her opponent’s serve under pressure to level the set.

However, Cirstea didn’t back down and put in a superb performance in the next game to break Sabalenka’s serve. She took the lead of the set once again, and this time, she made sure to put the match to bed. This was the Romanian’s second victory over Sabalenka, and she has now levelled up the H2H record at 2-2.

Notably, this is Cirstea’s first-ever victory over a World No. 1 player. She has also become the oldest player since 1973 to record her first triumph over a World No. 1 on clay. It remains to be seen if the veteran will be able to keep up this form as she locks horns against Linda Noskova in the R16 of the Italian Open.

On the other hand, it was agony for Sabalenka as she suffered her earliest exit from a tournament in more than a year. The last time that she had lost before the quarterfinals was last year at the Dubai Championships, where Clara Tauson had gotten the better of her.

After concluding the hard-court season on a high note by completing the Sunshine Double, the 28-year-old has had a forgettable clay swing so far. She hadn’t been able to participate in the Stuttgart Open due to an injury and had made her return in Madrid. However, the World No. 1 had exited the tournament in the last 8 after suffering a 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 defeat to Hailey Baptiste.

Following an early exit in Rome, Sabalenka will be aiming to end the clay swing on a positive note and go on a winning run at the French Open that will commence from May 24. But her body may have other plans as she didn’t look to be fully fit during the clash against Cirstea and even had to take a medical timeout at a crucial stage of the third set. However, this move didn’t go too well with the fans on social media.

Aryna Sabalenka accused of cheating at the Italian Open

The 28-year-old called for a medical timeout with the third set at 3-4. She received treatment on her lower back and hip area as Cirstea prepared to serve. The moment sparked reactions online, and many fans even labelled Sabalenka as a “cheater.”

The frustration of the fans looked to be justified as the stoppage came at an important stage of the match. While Sabalenka appeared to be in pain, only she knows if it was a genuine physical issue or simply unfortunate timing.

This wasn’t the only controversial moment of the match, as earlier on, Sabalenka was seen shouting while pointing towards her player’s box. “What are you showing me??” she asked her team. This was a clear sign that she was struggling to maintain her composure, and soon the match would slip away from her grasp.

It remains to be seen whether Sabalenka picked up an injury or not from her clash against Cirstea and how she will be preparing for the upcoming Roland Garros.