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Sabalenka stormed to a 6-1, 6-0 win on the opening day of the tournament at Court Philippe Chatrier in a statement victory.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns the ball to Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova during their first round match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka kickstarted her quest for a maiden French Open crown with a dominant victory over Russian Kamilla Rakhimova on Sunday in her first-round contest.
Sabalenka barely required an hour to sweep aside the Russian’s challenge with a ruthless 6-1, 6-0 win on the opening day of the tournament at Court Philippe Chatrier in a statement victory.
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Sabalenka, who has never reached the final at Roland Garros, enjoyed her deepest run at the clay court major in the year 2023 when she reached the semifinal of the event in Paris, and will look to improve on her record this time around.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has managed to clinch the Australian Open twice and the US Open once.
She was thwarted in her attempt for an Australian Open three-peat earlier in the year as she went down to American Madison Keys in a major upset, and the Belarusian will look to put the defeat behind her with he first ever title on French soil.
“I really feel I can do really good here,” said Sabalenka following her win over Rakhimova in a one-sided contest which witnessed the 27-year-old smash 30 winners past her Russian counterpart.
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Sabalenka is slated to take on either Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann or Italian qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini in he subsequent game for a spot in the round of 32.
China’s Zheng Qinwen got the better of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3 in a tricky first-round assignment to also move into the second round.
Later in the day, 14-time men’s French Open champions Rafael Nadal is set to be honoured in a tribute befitting the statrure of the legendary Spaniard at the Court Philippe Chatrier in Roland Garros. All the members of the traditional big-4 of modern tennis, Roger Fedeer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nadal himself, are expected to be present for the felicitation of the 38-year-old.
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