Unfortunate end: Belinda Bencic's injury propels Maria Sakkari into Rome Open second round

Maria Sakkari advances to the second round of the Rome Open after the world No. 39 Belinda Bencic retired due to injury. The Greek player was dominant during the 33 minutes of play, taking control and winning four consecutive games before the Swiss player's withdrawal, who is already thinking about Roland Garros.

Bencic arrived after a good week at the Madrid Open, with three consecutive victories until the round of 16, where she fell to eventual finalist Coco Gauff (No. 4). The gold medalist at Tokyo 2021 came into this point of the year with a 21-8 record for the season, having won the title in Abu Dhabi and with two victories against top-5 players this year.

The 28-year-old has been one of the best players of the year, despite her long period of absence in 2024 due to her pregnancy. Just a few months later, she returned to the court at a high level, and from the end of 2024 to date, she has risen from outside the top-1000 to the top-40, with significantly fewer tournaments played than her rivals. In fact, she is 14th in the WTA Race, which only measures points earned in 2025.

The match against Sakkari was undoubtedly one of the most attractive of the first round, between two players who have previously been consistent top-10 competitors. During the match, Bencic looked good at the start but gradually faded. From 2-2 – where neither player had held serve – a run by the former world No. 3 Greek player led her to take the set 6-2.

After the end of the set, Bencic requested a medical time-out, during which she was attended to for a few minutes before deciding to retire from the match, although the nature of the injury was not entirely clear. It is an unfortunate injury for Bencic, who surely did not want to risk herself physically before Roland Garros, the most important goal of the clay swing.

On the other hand, Sakkari achieves her third consecutive victory in Rome after coming through qualifying and overcomes a very tough first-round challenge. She will face 32nd seed Magda Linette in the second round, as the Greek player seeks to defend a good number of points (after reaching the round of 16 in 2024) – and avoid an even greater drop in the ranking.

Match Statistics Sakkari vs. Bencic