Australian Open: Rybakina advances to second round

Elena Rybakina extended her flawless opening-round record at the Australian Open on Tuesday, moving to 7-0 in Melbourne starters with a clinical 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kaja Juvan. The world number 5, who reached the final here in 2023, required just over an hour to secure her place in the second round, signaling a continuation of the devastating form that defined her late-season surge in 2025.

The victory serves as a confident opening statement for Rybakina’s title hunt. While Juvan offered resistance in the early stages of the first set, she was ultimately unable to cope with the relentless pace and depth of the Kazakh’s groundstrokes. Rybakina’s serve, widely considered the most effective weapon in women’s tennis, remained impenetrable during the critical moments of the second set, where she struck five aces and won over 75 percent of her first-serve points.

This win is a reflection of the extraordinary momentum Rybakina has carried into the 2026 season. She concluded 2025 on a high note, putting together an 11-match winning streak that included titles in Ningbo and a perfect, undefeated run to the WTA Finals crown in Riyadh. During that end-of-year stretch, Rybakina notched seven top-10 victories, culminating in a straight-sets demolition of world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Riyadh final.

She now advances to the round of 64, where she will face France’s Varvara Gracheva.