Aryna Sabalenka matches Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek WTA stat after winning opening match in Rome

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Aryna Sabalenka continues her good form as she starts her Italian Open campaign with a win.

The Belarusian arrived in Rome after winning the Madrid Open title for the second time in her career.

Now the World number one is on a mission to lift the trophy in Italy, and she has made a solid start to her campaign.

Aryna Sabalenka needed just one hour and three minutes to seal her spot in the next round and she is certainly one of the favourites to take the title at the Foro Italico.

Aryna Sabalenka joins WTA club that includes Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek

Sabalenka faced Anastasia Potapova to commence her Italian Open campaign.

She broke the Russian’s serve on two occasions in the first set, she repeated this in set two to wrap up a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

The 27-year-old reached the final at the Foro Italico last season and she has made one step towards returning to the championship match in 2025.

This marks Sabalenka’s 13th successive match win at WTA 1000 level, dating back to her Miami Open title win in March.

She is now the fifth World number one player to achieve this feat, joining Serena Williams and the current World number two, Iga Swiatek.

The other players in this group are Dinara Safina and two-time Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka.

Who is Aryna Sabalenka’s next opponent?

Post-match Sabalenka joked that she chose to play her match earlier because she wanted to enjoy some down-time in the evening.

“I had a chance to play at 7pm or 11am, and I choose 11 because I want to go for dinner and have pasta or pizza,” she said. “I love being in Rome, it’s an incredible beautiful place.”

Sabalenka will face the tricky Sofia Kenin for a spot in the Italian Open last 16. The American is a Grand Slam who the top players would rather avoid in the early stages of a tournament.

However, Sabalenka is a three-time major winner and she has a healthy record against the former World number four.

The top seed has won three of her previous four meetings against Kenin, including their last meeting at the 2023 China Open.

But it was Kenin who won their only previous meeting on clay, which came in 2023, also at the Italian Open. Two years with a chance at revenge, Sabalenka will aim to take the opportunity.