Sabalenka survives third-round scare in Rome

Aryna Sabalenka clinched her place in round four of the Italian Open with a come-from-behind victory over Sofia Kenin on Sunday.

Having seen fellow top seeds Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys head for early exits, Sabalenka found herself a set down to 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin.

Yet the world number one surged back to claim a hard-fought 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory in two hours and 13 minutes.

Her comeback included winning an epic game in the deciding set that had 10 deuces.

"I was going really tough on myself," said Sabalenka, who is gunning for her first title in Rome, having lost to Swiatek in last year's final.

"It was a tough match - she played incredible tennis in the first set. It was a great fight and I was super happy to get this match."

Sabalenka, who has won 14 straight WTA-1000 level matches, will take on Marta Kostyuk in the last 16, after the Ukrainian defeated 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.

33 - Aryna Sabalenka has claimed a 33rd WTA match win of 2025 – the most of any player so far this season, and Sabalenka’s career-high for seasonal wins before Roland Garros. Benchmark.#IBI25 | @InteBNLdItalia @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/V78KQ8LYZn

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 11, 2025

Data Debrief: Comeback Queen

Since the start of last season, Sabalenka (nine) has claimed the most WTA-1000 match wins from a set down. The Belarusian (9-7) is also the only player to own a winning record after losing the opening set in that same time span.

Sabalenka is now onto 33 Tour-level victories this season, which is more than any other player, while it also marks her career-best for wins in a campaign prior to Roland-Garros.

The top seed only converted six break points, but forced 23. This was only the second time Sabalenka has generated 20+ break point opportunities in a single match at Tour level, after managing 22 against Samantha Stosur in 2019.