The world No. 1 is still searching for her clay-court form.
Two weeks before the start of the French Open (beginning May 24), Aryna Sabalenka is not yet in top form on clay. The world No. 1 lost to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 3-6, 5-7 in the third round of the WTA tournament in Rome, thus exiting the warm-up event for Paris early. Sabalenka had also been eliminated early in Madrid; her run in the Spanish capital ended in the quarterfinals.
In Rome, she got off to a good start, but then made many uncharacteristic errors—especially on her own serve. Sabalenka conceded three breaks in the second set and lost her serve six times in total.
In the third set, Sabalenka received treatment on her left hip, using a timeout for that purpose. But with the score tied at 5-5 in the decisive set, she lost her serve again and was unable to mount a comeback.
Last year, Sabalenka lost the French Open final. She won her four Grand Slam titles on hard courts.