Jasmine Paolini powered into the Australian Open second round with a straight-sets demolition to kickstart the action in a hot and sunny Melbourne on Sunday.
Order of Play | Watch Live on DStv
The seventh-seeded Italian outclassed Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.
Paolini faces Poland's Magdalena Frech or Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia next.
"It was pretty good today, I did not expect that," she said of her emphatic win in 69 minutes.
Italian pocket rocket LAUNCHED into the second round - Paolini wins 6-1, 6-2!@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/mftSWAz9An
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2026
"Always tough to play first round. I played pretty good. I was solid, focused, so happy.
"Before the match, I was a little nervous, to be honest, but then stepped on court and felt good from the first ball."
The 30-year-old broke her opponent's serve immediately and raced into a 3-0 lead in just 10 minutes.
Power. Precision. Paolini 💥
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2026
The Italian bags the first set 6-1.@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/y0fKsfudoB
She polished off the first set in 26 minutes, and although Sasnovich put up more resistance in the second, Paolini ran out a comfortable winner.
Paolini reached the finals of Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024, but her best result at Melbourne Park is the fourth round in the same year.