WTA roundup: Aryna Sabalenka opens '26 with rout

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka only needed 47 minutes to open her 2026 season with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Spain's Cristina Bucsa at the Brisbane International on Tuesday in Australia.

The second-round rout matched the quickest career win for the top-seeded Sabalenka, who dropped only 18 points. The defending champion finished with 18 winners against just nine unforced errors, sealing the match with her fourth ace. Up next is Romania's Sorana Cirstea, a 6-2, 7-6 (5) winner over No. 14 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.

Six other seeded players advanced. No. 3 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated China's Shuai Zhang 6-3, 7-5; No. 5 Madison Keys beat fellow American McCartney Kessler 6-4, 6-3; No. 7 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia ousted Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 6-3; No. 12 Diana Shnaider of Russia eased to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Austria's Anastasia Potapova; No. 11 Karolina Muchova of Czechia rallied past Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5); and No. 15 Paula Badosa of Spain outlasted Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2.

ASB Classic

Fifth-seeded Magda Linette of Poland earned a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win against 45-year-old Venus Williams in the opening round in Auckland, New Zealand.

Both players struck seven aces in the two-hour, 12-minute match, with Linette saving all three break points against the seven-time Grand Slam winner in the deciding set. Linette moves on to face Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who defeated Alycia Parks 6-2, 7-5.

Top-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine opened with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat of France's Varvara Gracheva. No. 4 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Croatia's Donna Vekic. Britain's Sonay Kartal upended No. 6 seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in the only other match involving a seeded player. Germany's Ella Seidel, Britain's Katie Boulter and Croatia's Petra Marcinko also advanced.