World No. 1 women’s singles player Aryna Sabalenka secured a brilliant win in the second-round match of the Australian Open 2026 held on Wednesday, January 21, at Rod Laver Arena. The Belarusian defeated world No. 702 Bai Zhuoxuan of China by sets of 6-3, 6-1 and has now advanced to the third round of the tournament. In the third round, Sabalenka will face Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, who defeated Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion (won in 2023 and 2024 editions), started the first set with a 5-0 lead, but Zhuoxuan was dominant in her gameplay and put up a fight to add three scores on her side. However, the Belarusian closed out the first set in her favour, while the second one was rather won in a comfortable contest between the two.
Speaking of the difficulties faced against Zhuoxuan, Sabalenka revealed that she had to put up a tough fight in order to win against her Chinese opponent. She was determined and well-focused throughout the match that resulted in a win.
The Belarusian said, “Tricky opponent, she really stepped in on the first set and for a moment I felt: what shall I do? She’s crashing it. Super happy I was able to close that set, I think it gave me a little more confidence that I’m there, that my game is there. Focus step by step.”
“There’s always a little gap? to improve but I’m happy that in that game I didn’t lose it and I was focused and I was trying to tell myself, one at a time, it’s going to come back. You’re ok, just keep fighting, keep trying and I’m glad? I did it well,” she added.
Women’s Singles Event Results
Earlier in the first-round match of the Australian Open 2026, Sabalenka defeated France’s Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah by sets of 6-4, 6-1. Besides, Sabalenka, the women’s singles, saw major victories for top-ranked players, including Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka had to undergo a hard-fought battle against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic, defeating her by sets of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Meanwhile, Gauff secured a comfortable win over Serbia’s Olga Danilović by 6-2, 6-2. Both Osaka and Gauff will next face Romania’s Sorana Cirstea and America’s Hailey Baptiste, respectively, in the third round.
Another impressive first-round victory came from the ninth seed, Madison Keys of America, who defeated Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine by sets of 7-6(6), 6-1. After winning her first round, Polish star Iga Swiatek is yet to play in the second round, where she will compete against Czech Marie Bouzkova. The Paris Olympic bronze medalist had earlier defeated China’s Yuan Yue by sets of 7-6 (5), 6-3.
