“Felt Like My Body Was Limiting Me” – Sabalenka Plans Rest and Recovery After Loss to Cirstea in Rome

Tennis: what a crazy sport. You’re on top of the world in March and, less than two months later, you’re on a different surface, in a different time zone, searching for wins and confidence.

Such is the case for World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka after Madrid and Rome. The four-time major champion, who stormed through the Sunshine Double this year while barely dropping sets at Indian Wells and Miami, saw her momentum come to a halt in Madrid when she squandered six match points in a quarterfinal loss to Hailey Baptiste.

The kind of defeat that can leave a player searching for answers.

A week later, Sabalenka was bounced from the Rome draw by surging Sorana Cirstea, who earned her first win over a reigning World No. 1 with a tense 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory on Saturday.

“I feel like I didn’t play well from the beginning till the end. I started really well, but then I kind of dropped the level,” Sabalenka told reporters after her third loss of 2026. “Felt like my body was limiting me from performing on the highest level. She stepped in and played incredible tennis. Didn’t really give me many opportunities.”

“That was a tough one. But I guess we never lose; we only learn, so it’s okay.”

The physical limitations Sabalenka referenced appeared to stem from an issue with her lower back. She took a medical timeout during the third set and was unable to recover as Cirstea, who plans to retire at the end of the season, closed out the biggest win of her year.

“I’d say that probably it’s my lower back, connected to the hip, which is kind of limiting me from full rotation,” Sabalenka said.

Sabalenka now has a little more than two weeks to recover before beginning her quest for a first Roland-Garros title later this month.

“I guess we are just going to have some days off,” she said. “We’re going to spend it on recovery. That’s the plan for now.”