At the Brisbane International, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka crushed Renata Zarazua 6-4 6-0 to start her season.
Sabalenka defeated Zarazua of Mexico in just 63 minutes after being given a bye for the first round, securing a matchup with Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in the third round.
After winning the US Open in September, Sabalenka begins the year as the number one seed for the first time in her career.
In January, the Belarusian hopes to win the Australian Open for the third time in a row, but she stated she is unconcerned about the pressure to perform.
According to Sabalenka, “I have to say I’m past that stage of being under pressure,”
“When you’re in the top five, you’re always kind of under pressure with the ranking points and all of the title defences so I prefer to just focus on myself.
“So I always keep myself hungry and I’m always hungry for titles, for wins. Winning is addicting.”
Sabalenka reached the final of the Brisbane International last season but lost to Elena Rybakina.
Leave a Reply