Tennis-Sabalenka exits Rome with injury concern ahead of French Open

Aryna Sabalenka's French Open preparations suffered ​a setback following a third-round defeat ​by Sorana Cirstea at the ‌Italian ​Open, with the world No. 1 now looking to shake off an injury ahead of the Grand Slam that ‌begins this month. Sabalenka needed treatment late in her meeting with Cirstea on Saturday before she fell 2-6 6-3 7-5 for her second defeat in three matches after a quarterfinal ‌loss to Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open last month.

"I feel like I didn't ‌play well from the beginning till the end. I started really well, but I dropped the level," four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka said in Rome. "I felt like my body was limiting me from ⁠performing ​at the highest level. ⁠She stepped in and played incredible tennis. She 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." Sabalenka's disappointing claycourt ​swing follows a stellar run on hardcourts, during which she captured the Brisbane ⁠title, reached the Australian Open final and claimed back-to-back trophies in Indian Wells and Miami.

The Belarusian said ⁠she ​now hoped to recover her fitness in time for the French Open, which gets underway in Paris on May 24, after losing last year's final against ⁠Coco Gauff. "I'd say that probably it's like my lower back, connected to the hip, which ⁠limited my full ⁠rotation," the 28-year-old added.

"I guess we're just going to have some days off. We're going to spend it on recovery. That's ‌the plan ‌for now."

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