PARIS — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka despatched an early warning to her French Open rivals, producing a dominant show in her first-round victory over Kamilla Rakhimova on Sunday.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, cranked up her serve beneath the roof of the principle showcourt in a simple 6-1, 6-0 win in precisely an hour. She hit 5 aces and saved the 2 break factors she confronted towards the unseeded Rakhimova.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka broke out to a 3-0 lead within the second set after scampering to a ball that had clipped the web twine and crushing a forehand winner.
“I am tremendous completely satisfied to be again in Paris,” stated Sabalenka, who reached the semifinals in 2023. “… The primary rounds are at all times tough … however I am tremendous completely satisfied to get the win and undergo.”
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China’s Zheng Qinwen, who received an Olympic singles gold medal on the identical courtroom ultimately yr’s Paris Video games, eased previous 2021 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3 to stretch her profitable run on the Parisian clay to seven matches.
“That feeling is unforgettable,” the eighth-seeded Qinwen stated of her win on the Paris Olympics. “It’s the finest expertise of my life up to now. I’ll carry the gold-medal mentality all by means of this match.”
Jasmine Paolini, final yr’s runner-up at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, had a more durable first-round match. The fourth-seeded Italian dropped serve 5 instances in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win towards Yuan Yue on Courtroom Suzanne-Lenglen.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina made a formidable begin Sunday, dropping simply two video games in a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.
Canadian teen Victoria Mboko, making her Grand Slam debut, used her large serve and terrific backhand to beat 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Solar 6-1, 7-6 (4). Mboko reached a prime velocity of 115 mph and delivered seven aces on her serve. She received all 10 of her service video games, saving all seven break factors amassed by Solar.
“This does, clearly, really feel actually fast for me,” stated the 18-year-old Mboko, who has been represented by expertise company IMG for the reason that age of 12. “Though it feels fast, I really feel like I am additionally adapting in a short time. I need to be on this degree. To adapt actually quick is actually essential to me. The extra I really feel like I make it appear regular to me, the extra regular it should be in these tournaments.”
In different matches, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who secured her first win since getting back from maternity go away on the Italian Open final week, bowed out with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 loss to Viktorija Golubic.
Germany’s Eva Lys ousted American Peyton Stearns, the No. 28 seed, with a 6-0, 6-3 win.
Reuters and The Related Press contributed to this report.
