After finishing the hard-court swing on a high, Aryna Sabalenka was widely expected to carry that momentum into the clay season. But things haven’t really gone her way so far. She withdrew from the Stuttgart Open due to injury, then suffered a quarter-final loss to Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, followed by an early exit against Sorana Cîrstea in Rome. Given that dip in results, former coach of Serena Williams, Rennae Stubbs, has suggested that Sabalenka may not be the frontrunner for the upcoming Roland Garros.

A big reason behind this is the lower-back issue that the Belarusian had sustained during her clash against Cirstea in Rome. With Sabalenka now having just little over a week to prepare for the Roland Garros, Stubbs feels that the back problem can prevent her from succeeding at the Grand Slam.

“Sabalenka, she’s not my favorite for the French now. (Cirstea) She’s so good, she’s always been a player that hits the ball so well, she moves for her age at 36, she moves so well! So Sabalenka’s not looking great and also having a bit of a back issue apparently. That is not good going into a major and not having the success she would have wanted to on clay,” she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis podcast.

Stubbs also said that the back problem will especially be painful for Sabalenka while playing on grass courts and can have an effect on her results.

“Also going into the grass, if you’ve got a back problem it’s going to be a bit of a pain in the a**, because playing on grass is the worst on your butt and your back,” the 6-time doubles Grand Slam champion added.

When asked about her condition after the match against Cirstea, Sabalenka had admitted that the back problem is limiting her from full rotation. The 28-year-old had also said that she would need some days to fully recover from the issue.

“I’d say that probably it’s like my lower back, connected to the hip, which kind of like limiting me from the full rotation. I guess we just going to have some days off. We’re going to spend it on recovery. That’s the plan I believe for now,” she had said during the post-match press conference.

The 6-2, 3-6, 5-7 defeat against Cirstea took a massive toll on Sabalenka’s body. She had looked to be the one in-charge after the first set however the Romanian went on to make a stunning comeback. After trailing 0-2 in the second set, Cirstea would go on to win six out of the next seven games to level up the match at one set each.

The third set looked to be headed for the tiebreaker at 5-5, but Cirstea went on to get a decisive break to take the lead. The 36-year-old then put the match to bed by holding her serve in the final game. It was during the third set that Sabalenka started to have issues with her back and decided to take a medical timeout. However, the timing of the move left many fans enraged and they were quick to criticize the World No. 1 on social media.

Aryna Sabalenka accused of cheating by fans at the Italian Open

Sabalenka had called for the medical timeout when she was trailing the set 3-4. She received treatment on her lower back and hip area as Cirstea prepared to serve. This didn’t go well with the fans and many of them even labelled Sabalenka as a “cheater”.

While the Belarusian did appear to be in a lot of pain, only she knows if it was a genuine physical issue or simply unfortunate timing. Her condition didn’t look great even after the timeout as she failed to hold her serve in a crucial game.

This wasn’t the only controversial moment of the match, as earlier on, Sabalenka was seen shouting while pointing towards her players box. “What are you showing me??” she asked her team. The 28-year-old struggled to maintain her composure throughout the match and will be aiming to not repeat the same mistakes at the French Open that is set to begin from May 24.

Not to mention that an early exit at the Grand Slam would see Sabalenka lose a big number of points on the rankings as she reached the final last year.

Will Sabalenka be able to finish the clay-court season on a positive note, or will she suffer a disappointing exit at the Roland Garros? Let us know what you think in the comments!