© Getty Images Sport – Chris Hyde
Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka have made dominant starts at the Brisbane International, while Naomi Osaka exited the tournament following a tight three-set loss to Karolina Pliskova.
Rybakina, seeded at No. 2, had a first-round bye at the tournament before taking on Australian qualifier Olivia Gadecki. In her first match of the new season, 2023 Australian Open runner-up Rybakina made a great start, beating Gadecki 6-4 6-1.
Aryna Sabalenka, who is the top-seeded player at this year’s Brisbane International edition, also got off to a commanding start to her campaign. On Wednesday, Sabalenka made a light work of world No. 52 Lucia Bronzetti, beating the Italian 6-3 6-0.
Meanwhile, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka’s run ended with a very tight defeat. After starting her post-pregnancy comeback with a win over Tamara Korpatsch, Osaka suffered a tight loss to Karolina Pliskova as the Czech beat the Japanese 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4.
Rybakina sees off Gadecki, has a message for the crowd
Going into the match, Rybakina was considered the strong favorite to beat Gadecki. But 124th-ranked Gadecki offered some strong resilience early on.
In the opening nine games of the match, a bit surprisingly not a single break point was seen. But…
