Sabalenka dominates round 1 game in French Open

World number one Aryna Sabalenka dropped only one game as she beat Kamilla Rakhimova to get her French Open campaign under way in emphatic style.

Sabalenka needed just one hour to beat Russian Rakhimova 6-1 6-0 in Paris.

The Belarusian ramped up her performance as the match went on, winning nine games in a row to close out the match.

Opening the first day's play on Court Philippe Chatrier, Sabalenka served up five aces, hit 30 winners and broke her opponent's serve five times on her way to a dominant victory under the roof.

She could face Chinese eighth seed Zheng Qinwen - who beat 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-3 in her opening match - in the quarter-finals and three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semis.

Before then, Sabalenka will first have to beat Jil Teichmann for a place in the third round, after the Swiss player beat Italian qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4 6-4.