Another big name fell early at the Italian Open as Ons Jabeur's return from injury ended in a straight-sets defeat to Paula Badosa, but Maria Sakkari safely progressed.
The Tunisian’s exit means that three of the top four seeds have failed to make it to the last 32, after Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula also suffered shock exits.
Ad Badosa applied pressure on Jabeur’s serve throughout, taking five of nine break points to clinch a 6-1 6-4 victory in 70 minutes.
WTA MadridAndreeva stuns Linette on 16th birthday, Gauff loses to Badosa in Madrid Open29/04/2023 AT 19:00 Jabeur matched her opponent’s tally of three aces, and hit 21 winners to Badosa’s 15 but ended with two more unforced errors as her Rome title bid fell apart at the first hurdle. “It was a really tough match, I really respect her,” Badosa said. “We know each other a lot so I was aware of the drop shots.