Sabalenka smiled, served, and later took a selfie with Roger Federer and Rod Laver as if that was the normal post-match routine.
The world number one started her Australian Open title defence with a straight-sets victory over wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, then made light of the extra eyes in the crowd.
Sabalenka Keeps Composure With Legends Watching
It was never going to be a quiet curtain-raiser with Federer and Laver parked front row, but Sabalenka handled the spectacle and the serve-and-volley of attention with a smile and a strong finish.
I wanted to show great tennis so you guys enjoy watching me play. What a privilege – I really hope you guys enjoyed it just a little bit,
Aryna Sabalenka
She admitted the presence of tennis royalty added weight, saying it was pressure and that, as she put it, “I was walking [around] thinking ‘don’t look there, don’t look there’.” The comment drew the chuckles that often follow honesty in press boxes.
Sabalenka closed the match 6-4, 6-1 against the left-handed wildcard, but the scoreline disguises a first set that tilted toward chaos before the champion seized control and stopped trading errors for winners.
Messy First Set, Clinical Finish
The opening set saw Sabalenka broken in the first game and then immediately fighting back, with an odd mix of risk and reward as she produced 16 winners while also committing 13 unforced errors, a stat line that reads like a match of extremes.
After saving a break point at 4-4 the momentum flipped, and Sabalenka rattled off five games in a row to stretch clear and take the match in straight sets, the sort of finish that reminds opponents not to bank on a slow start.
She was frank about the tricky opening, saying the start was not her best but crediting her opponent for turning up fired and testing her early, then finding rhythm at the end of the first set.
That opponent was making only her second Grand Slam main draw appearance, and Sabalenka will next meet the winner of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Bai Zhuoxuan, with Britain’s Emma Raducanu a possible third-round challenge.
Form, History And What Comes Next
Sabalenka’s record in Melbourne is hard to argue with: she has dropped just one set en route to consecutive titles in 2023 and 2024 and has lost just one of her past 22 matches at the tournament, a run that both comforts and warns her rivals.
Her success down under is not a fluke either, with five of her 22 career singles titles coming on Australian soil and a tune-up win in Brisbane last month suggesting she arrived match-ready rather than merely seeded well.
On court she mixed humor with focus, even asking Federer outright, “Can I take a picture with you please?” before a post-match selfie that felt more like capturing a moment in tennis history than a social media stunt.
She joked back at the crowd and the two legends that they love to pile on the pressure, saying, “You just love to throw the pressure on me, right?” and then returning to the sensible mantra of one match at a time.
As the top seed and defending champion she is chasing another deep Melbourne run and could become the first woman in recent memory to convert that kind of sustained consistency into yet more hardware if she keeps this level of focus.
For opponents and fans alike the takeaway was clear: Sabalenka might start ragged at times, but she finishes like a champion, and in a draw stacked with talent her form in the closing games is the real headline for the tournament.
My Tennis Expert believes Sabalenka’s blend of firepower, experience in Australia and a habit of turning matches around makes her the player to watch as the draw opens and the nights in Melbourne get longer and more consequential.
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Christoph Friedrich is a German tennis player and coach currently residing in Oakland, California. He began his tennis journey at the age of eight and has since dedicated his life to the sport. After working as a tennis coach and hitting partner in New York City for eight years, Christoph decided to share his knowledge and experience with tennis players around the world by creating the My Tennis Expert blog. His goal is to make tennis education accessible to everyone and help players select the best equipment for their game, from racquets and strings to shoes and overgrips. Christoph's extensive research and expertise in tennis technology make him a valuable resource for players of all levels.
