In her first match on clay this season, Sabalenka defeated American Peyton Stearns 2:0 – 7:5, 6:3 after an hour and 35 minutes of play.
Far from being the winner of the Laureus Award (Sportswoman of the Year for 2025) she excelled today, but in the end she still finished the job in two sets.
Two sets were almost mirrored. Sterns had a break advantage in both and led 2:1, but Arina came back. In the first, she reached the set with a break in the 12th game, in the second at 4:3, when she broke her rival's serve, saved two tied break points and then converted the second match point to advance to the next round.
There she will play against Romanian Jacqueline Cristian, who after a comeback in three sets defeated Ukrainian Yulia Starodubtseva.
