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Sabalenka advances to Australian Open second round

Aryna Sabalenka. Photo courtesy of the NOC of Belarus

MINSK, 18 January (BelTA) – Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus has made a winning start at the season’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament – the Australian Open, BelTA has learned.

In her opening match in Melbourne today, the top-seeded Belarusian tennis player convincingly defeated France’s Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah (World No. 118) 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 17 minutes. She will next face the winner of the match between Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (44) and China’s Zhou Bai (697) in the second round.

Aryna Sabalenka is a two-time Australian Open champion, having won the title in 2023 and 2024, though she fell in last year’s final to American Madison Keys.

Another Belarusian, Aliaksandra Sasnovich (world No. 102), was defeated in the first round by seventh-ranked Italian Jasmine Paolini, 1-6, 2-6. Aliaksandra Sasnovich had reached the main draw through qualifying, where she earned wins over France’s Ksenia Efremova, Liechtenstein’s Kathinka von Deichmann, and Ukraine’s Daria Snigur. 

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