Too strong in Melbourne: Aryna Sabalenka overwhelms Bai to stay perfect in 2026

Aryna Sabalenka claimed her second consecutive victory at the Australian Open and booked her place in the third round after overpowering China’s Bai Zhuoxuan (No. 702) with a dominant 6–3, 6–1 win. The Belarusian was once again impeccable on serve and, aside from a few moments of hesitation when closing out the first set, delivered an almost flawless performance on Rod Laver Arena.

The two-time Australian Open champion reached 30 career wins in the Melbourne main draw, highlighted by her title runs in 2023 and 2024, as well as her strong finish to the 2025 season. This time, she continues to live up to her favourite status in Melbourne and moves into the third round, where a potential reunion with Emma Raducanu could be on the cards.

The four-time Grand Slam champion is also now 7–0 in 2026, having lifted the title at the Brisbane International just a week earlier. She has reached at least the third round in 19 consecutive Grand Slam appearances and continues to show why she has been the most consistent player at majors in recent years.

The opening stages unfolded exactly as expected for Sabalenka, who looked clearly superior from the outset. Only after nine points did Bai manage to win her first point, while within minutes Sabalenka had raced ahead on the scoreboard. Two consecutive love breaks and three near-perfect service games gave the Belarusian a commanding 5–0 lead, having won 20 of the first 24 points played.

The match struggled to find rhythm, with Bai appearing out of sync and perhaps still feeling the effects of her nearly three-hour first-round battle against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (6–4, 2–6, 7–6[12–10]). She also came into the match on a streak of four consecutive wins over the past week after progressing through qualifying.

Nevertheless, Bai found some answers late in the set. She held serve and then surprised with a break of her own as Sabalenka’s first serve began to misfire. The world No. 1 went hunting for another break and had up to four set points on return, but was unable to convert. Bai briefly reeled off three games in a row to claw her way back into the set. It was not enough, however, as Sabalenka weathered the pressure and eventually closed out the set 6–3 on her seventh set point.

The start of the second set once again tilted completely in favour of the four-time Grand Slam champion, who opened with two consecutive breaks to surge ahead 4–0. Sabalenka raised her first-serve percentage from 68% in the opening set to 78% in the second, making life even more difficult for her opponent. She missed a couple of chances to secure a third straight break while leading 4–0, but Bai managed to hold one final service game for pride.

Even so, it was only a matter of time before Sabalenka closed out the contest. She needed just 34 minutes to wrap up the second set, securing her third break and sealing the victory 6–3, 6–1 in one hour and 14 minutes. It marked another commanding showing from Sabalenka, who had opened her campaign with a 6–4, 6–1 win over Tiatsoa Rakotomanga.

In the third round, she could face a potential clash with former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, with whom she has already shared several high-profile battles, including an epic encounter at the Cincinnati Open, where Sabalenka prevailed in a third-set tie-break. First, however, the Brit must get past her second-round challenge against Russia’s Anastasia Potapova.