Rome Open WTA Day Five Round-Up | Sorana Cirstea dumps out Sabalenka, topsy turvy wins for Gauff and Andreeva

As we near the end to the first week of action in the WTA Rome Open, the third round commenced with numerous big names still in the hunt.

Reigning champion Jasmine Paolini is out as her charge in front of her home support waned World number one Aryna Sabalenka is out while last year's runner-up Coco Gauff is through. Andreeva, and Iva Jovic are also through.

To Cirstea first. She announced that the 2026 season - her 20th on the WTA tour would be her last penning that she hopes to go out on her own terms but as ever when a retirement looms and the freedom comes is that notion that you might reverse the decision.

She has now been consistently asked that question as she saw off the World No.1 in an epic Saturday evening win. She won 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. In her career, she has scored 24 top 20 wins. A pretty remarkable feat for a player who has not cracked the top 20 in her career and also lost to Sabalenka pretty easily to start the year in Adelaide. Sabalenka surged ahead 6-2, 2-0 but her level dipped and she completed an epic comeback in two hours and 14 minutes breaking Sabalenka three times in the final set. She required a medical timeout for what appeared to be a lower back injury.

Sabalenka said afterwards that she felt like her body was limiting her and she bowed out having concerns going into Roland Garros very soon indeed. While Cirstea isn't done yet, she will feel she has more to offer after today.

Coco Gauff also didn't find it easy in her tie as she faced off against Solana Sierra. Defending big points from last year and of course her Roland Garros win, it is very much a pivotal time for her and she averted losing the opening set in the first game of the day to win through 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 in the end. Simple after the opener but a warning sign nonetheless.

Also wins for Linda Noskova who saw off Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-3 pretty easily to move through. But for home hero Jasmine Paolini it was a bit of a nightmare as she lost out pretty easily to Elise Mertens in a decider. She will drop out of the top 10, the longest run of an Italian woman in the modern era and she did so defeated 6-4, 6-7, 3-6 in favour of Mertens who is always the ultimate spoiler and proved so again today. Jelena Ostapenko also took down Zheng Qinwen as her comeback continued. It was a 6-4 opener for Qinwen but she lost the next two by the same scoreline as the Latvian upped the anti and took her down.

Mirra Andreeva is through also having taken down Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. It was a pretty easy win for Andreeva who overcame a mid match wobble in the process to win. While speaking of young guns, Iva Jovic was ultra impressive again as she defeated Taylor Townsend 7-5, 6-2. Next up Coco Gauff.

Anna Kalinskaya won the final game of the night. Belinda Bencic watched Cirstea win earlier but couldn't harness that magic as Kalinskaya sealed the victory in a 6-4, 6-3 win. A pretty up and down day for the top seeds but Sabalenka is out, while Gauff and Andreeva survive.