Aryna Sabalenka starts strong in her Paris opener, losing only one game

FRANCE: World number one Aryna Sabalenka impressively made a strong start to her French Open campaign, losing just one game in a fierce win over Kamilla Rakhimova.

Sabalenka showed how dedicated she was to winning as the match went on. The athlete only needed an hour to gain a 6-1, 6-0 victory, and she had won the last nine games in a row. 

In a social media post, Sabalenka shared: “Round 1 ✅ @rolandgarros”

Netizens commented on the post and said: “Another grand Slam loading for you ❤️🙌”, “The best player in the world 👏,” “What a way to start! 🙌,” and “love you so much～Focused and determined～Definitely keep going😘”

The Belarusian player looked confident and dominant from the beginning of the match. She used her big serve and powerful groundstrokes to take control of her opponent and gave her little to no chance of securing a win. 

It is known that the clay surface was not Sabalenka’s strongest suit, but her performance proved that she has been adapting to the surface very well. Her ability to hit 30 winners and take over the match simply showed that she is not only relying on her strength alone but is also playing smart. 

Sabalenka has never reached the finals of the French Open, but the opening results highlighted that she could possibly be a tough opponent to beat for this season’s title. 

Collecting memories

After Sabalenka’s easy victory against Rakhimova, she pulled out a Polaroid camera to take photos of her bags and the court. This has been a fun tradition that the athlete started this season. For her, it is a way of capturing memories from each tournament, adding a personal touch to her journey on tour.

In her on-court interview with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, Sabalenka expressed: “The idea was to take some good moments in my life—I started in December and I already have a pretty big album… When I feel sad, I go through the album and remember the good moments, they give me good vibes.” 

She added, “The album is full of my team, which is annoying sometimes, but it is good fun.” 

What’s next for Sabalenka?

The World No. 1 could face Chinese eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals. The Chinese athlete defeated 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a final scoreline of 6-4, 6-3 in her first match.

If Sabalenka continues to progress in the tournament, she might face three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals. 

However, she needed to get past Swiss player Jil Teichmann in the second round. The athlete secured her spot by defeating the Italian qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini with scores of 6-4, 6-4.