Sawt Falasteen - Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

NYSE - LSE

RBGPF	-2.14%	70	$
CMSC	0.03%	19.895	$
BCE	-2.06%	19.92	$
RIO	-0.93%	89.485	$
BCC	-0.62%	75.66	$
RELX	0.34%	39.195	$
VOD	-0.94%	15.96	$
RYCEF	-3.6%	17.5	$
NGG	-2.55%	79.2	$
CMSD	0.07%	19.874	$
BP	-1.58%	49.43	$
JRI	-0.76%	10.48	$
GSK	0.04%	49.53	$
BTI	-1.78%	58.95	$
AZN	-0.17%	165.13	$

Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open / Photo: Paul Crock - AFP

Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

SPORTS 18.01.2026

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.

Text size:

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.

"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.

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.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST

Sawt Falasteen - Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

Featured

Boland sets pace as South Africa struggle

Yamal v PSG: Ballon d'Or backdrop to Champions League showdown

Araujo says too soon to talk about permanent Liverpool move

Eagles star Hurts to miss rest of NFL season: reports