Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her title defence at the Brisbane International with a dominant performance, which saw her drop just one game.
The world No.1 thrashed Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 6-0, 6-1 in less than 50 minutes, dropping just 22 points in the entire match. Playing in her first Tour-level match of 2026, Sabalenka won 81% of her service points and didn’t face a single break point. In terms of games dropped, it is her most one-sided victory since the first round of last year’s French Open, when she defeated Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova with the same score.
“I wasn’t focusing on warning anyone for the season,” Sabalenka said of her performance.
“I was just trying to show my level. I did it well, and if someone got scared because of that, I’ll be happy to see players giving up, but that’s not going to happen, unfortunately.
“But [I’m] just super happy with the level I was able to show today.”
Elaborating further, Sabalenka said she was able to maintain her intensity throughout the match with the help of her experience. However, she admits it is a fine balance to get it right at times.
“I have been on tour for quite a bit and I’m quite experienced player, and I have seen a lot of things happen,” she explained.
“Even if you lead easily and just lose the momentum, give some easy shots [away], things can turn around.
“That’s why, throughout the years, I learned how to stay focused and ignore the scoreline and just focus on the things that I have to do on court.
“Getting frustrated … I think that’s a great mentality to have, but it also can be against you if you go too much and ignoring that the score is kind of good for you.
“So you can relax sometimes. But if you can balance these two things, I think it’s a great mentality to have.”
The top seed is on a collision course with Madison Keys in the quarter-finals, who beat her in the semi-finals of the Australian Open last year. Keys began her title bid with a 5-4, 6-3 win over compatriot McCartney Kessler.
However, both players must get through their third round matches to set up the showdown. Sabalenka’s next test will be Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who upset 14th seed Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. Meanwhile, Keys faces Diana Shnaider.
