By the numbers: Sabalenka needs just an hour to clear Roland Garros opener
No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka opened her Roland Garros campaign with a smooth 6-1, 6-0 win over Kamilla Rakhimova in exactly an hour to begin Sunday's play on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Roland Garros 2025: Draws | Scores | 411
Sabalenka arrives in Paris as the form player of 2025 seeking her first Roland Garros crown. The reigning US Open champion owns a tour-leading three titles this year, including her third Madrid trophy last month, and her overall record is now 35-6. She will next face Jil Teichmann, who defeated qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4, 6-4. They have met once previously, with Sabalenka victorious over the Swiss player 6-2, 6-1 in the 2022 Doha third round.
Elsewhere in Sabalenka's section of the draw, Viktorija Golubic took out former No. 2 Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in 1 hour and 41 minutes. Kvitova was playing her first match at Roland Garros since 2023, and seeking her first win here since 2022, but was undone by a total of 45 unforced errors. Her record since returning from maternity leave in February now stands at 1-5.
Here are the key numbers from Sabalenka's victory:
30: Sabalenka fired 30 winners, including five aces, across the 13 games of the match -- while keeping her unforced error count down to 17. By contrast, Rakhimova was only able to find nine winners in total.
2: Sabalenka faced just two break points in the match, both in the fourth game of the second set, and saved both with clean winners. She converted five out of 11 opportunities on the Rakhimova serve.
3: Sabalenka now holds a 3-0 record against Rakhimova. Last year, she had to come through a three-set barnburner in the second round of Washington, holding off Rakhimova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. However, their two clay-court encounters -- both at Roland Garros -- have been less close. Sabalenka was also a 6-2, 6-2 winner in the 2023 third round.
18: Sabalenka extended her winning streak in the opening round of majors to 18 victories. The last time she lost in the first round of a Grand Slam was at the 2020 Australian Open to Carla Suárez Navarro.
2: This is the second match this season in which Sabalenka has conceded just one game, following her 6-0, 6-1 win over Madison Keys in the Indian Wells semifinals. It marks the fewest games she has ever dropped in a match at Roland Garros.
