The title defense and quest for a three-peat has begun for Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka has been virtually unbeatable on the hardcourts, especially in Australia, in recent years. The World No. 1 has already earned a hardcourt title in 2025 at Brisbane International.
Her first-round opponent, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens had a tall order taking on the hardcourt wizardry of Sabalenka. Stephens has been in the midst of a frustrating eight-match losing streak, and her confidence has taken a hit as a result.
The pair had interesting rallies, but Sabalenka was in charge in this match. Stephens was down 1-4 in the first set and clawed her way back into the match winning two straight games to go 3-4, but in the end, Sabalenka won in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Eyes firmly on three in a row 👀
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka gets through Stephens 6-3, 6-2 to move on! 🐯@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/G6WZzAOmuf
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025
Sabalenka was not at her best. She is human and had some bad decisions and unforced errors, but she has to be thrilled to get through a trick opponent and be on her way to the second round.
Aryna Sabalenka is vying to become the first woman to win three straight Australian Opens since Martina Hingis did it from 1997-1999.
As for Sloane Stephens, fans want to see her resurge in 2025. At her best, she is athletic and a good shotmaker. Against Sabalenka, her serves were coming back to her almost as quickly as her racquet completed the service motion.
Stephens recently hinted that her career is nearing its end. She did not specify what that meant. Stephens has eight career WTA titles and achieved the career-high ranking of World No. 3 in July 2018. With this result, the soon-to-be-32-year-old is in danger of falling outside the Top 100.
