Aryna Sabalenka got away to a winning start at Roland Garros on Sunday’s opening day with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Kamilla Rakhimova to glide easily into the second round.
The win was the second here for Sabalenka against Rakhimova, whom she also defeated in the third round two years ago.
The top seed who has not passed the semi-finals in Paris, never let her opponent into the brief match which lasted 60 minutes.
The last time she lost just one game in a match, the 27-year-old won the 2024 Australian Open.
Sabalenka swept up the opening set in 30 minutes and was all but unchallenged on her way to victory with 30 winners and 17 unforced errors.
“It was amazing playing out there. I can’t wait to play another match on this beautiful stadium,” she said.
With Roland Garros the last of the Grand Slams still holding onto human linecalling, Sabalenka admits that her opinion of the decision is mixed.
“I guess (it is) old school, having the referees (linespeople) and calling the referee to check the mark.
“I think that’s something which brings like in old days, which is cool, probably. I don’t know. Honest.
“I had a situation with the referee in Stuttgart, and also there was tricky calls with the Hawk-Eye system in Rome.
“So I’m really confused (about) what I prefer, to be honest.”
With her 2024 tournament here ending in the quarter-finals while carrying a stomach illness, Sabalenka is keen for improvement.
“I’m just trying to live my life, work hard on court, and go out there every time and fight for every point…I really hope for a better result than last year.”
There was a similar lop-sided outcome for Elina Svitolina as the popular Ukrainian 13th seed crushed Turk Zeynep Sonmez 6-1, 6-1, taking 72 minutes to advance.
“I definitely had good tournaments leading up to Roland Garros,” the winner said. “Winning 250 in Rouen was a good tournament for me, then playing well in Madrid, Rome as well..
“I was finding my game in different conditions. That’s what brought me a lot of confidence. I’m trying to work on a few things and just try to bring my best game for the next round.”
Compatriot Dayana Yastremska put another Ukrainian into the second round,defeating Australian wild card Destanee Aiava 7-5, 6-1.
Eighth seed Zheng Qinwen returned to the Paris scene of her 2024 Olympic gold medal, scoring a move into the second round 6-4, 6-3 over veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 finalist.
Due to early afternoon rain, the match was played under the closed roof of the Chatrier showcourt, which made little difference to the Chinese player.
“Actually, it was still a tennis court,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you play with roof or without roof.
“It’s the same conditions for me and my opponent. The court and the balls today were slower than outside.”
2020 semi-finalist Petra Kvitova went out in the Paris first round for the second time in as many appearances, losing 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 to Swiss Viktorija Golubic.
Kvitova, a double Australian Open champion, did not play last year during a pregnancy break but lost in the first round in 2023; she went down with 26 unforced errors.
The 32-year-old Golubic left it late this spring to finally score a win on clay after losing in her only WTA-level match on the dirt in Rome this month after qualifying.
The Swiss lived up to her French Open giant-killer reputation, beating Kvitova a year after eliminating 2021 tournament winner Barbora Krejcikova in a similar first-round upset a year ago.
Jill Teichman produced a second Swiss win, defeating Italian qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4, 6-4.
In other results, rising Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko put her qualifier status to best use, earning her first win in a main draw at a major – and 39th of the season – with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) defeat of New Zealand’s Lulu Sun.
