Berliner Tageblatt - Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

NYSE - LSE

BCC	-5.11%	75	$
RBGPF	0%	70.49	$
RYCEF	3.27%	17.15	$
RIO	1.02%	82.73	$
BCE	1.4%	20.67	$
CMSC	0.3%	19.82	$
NGG	0.56%	84.42	$
JRI	-0.09%	11.26	$
GSK	-0.77%	49.13	$
CMSD	0.65%	19.89	$
RELX	0.91%	40.46	$
BTI	0.63%	61.91	$
VOD	-1.47%	15.65	$
BP	-5.24%	47.88	$
AZN	-0.04%	186.58	$

Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open / Photo: © 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.

O.Lorenz--BTB

Berliner Tageblatt - Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

Featured

African players in Europe: Defender Hakimi's historic hat-trick

Struggling Slavia face Arsenal as grim record looms

'Remarkable' rookie Lendeborg scores 37 as Warriors beat Clippers

Vikings suffer first loss while Broncos edge Chiefs in NFL