Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain during their first round women’s singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, on May 26, 2026
| Photo Credit: AP
World number one Aryna Sabalenka blazed through her opening round at the French Open as she brushed aside Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4 6-2 on Tuesday (May 26, 2026).
Sabalenka raced to a 4-0 lead on a sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier before unforced errors crept into her game, which allowed her opponent to pull two breaks back and serve for 5-5.
A double fault, however, handed the top-seeded Belarusian the first set and she opened up a 5-0 advantage in the second.
Bouzas Maneiro got to survive another couple of games when she held and then broke for 5-2 but a double fault gave Sabalenka a routine win.
“That’s the most enjoyable part of the game that I can come to the net to play points there, it’s so much fun,” last year’s runner-up Sabalenka said.
“I’m so happy I was able to improve on that part of the game and bring it on court.”
Published – May 26, 2026 05:47 pm IST