Iga Swiatek, world number two and natural contender for the Australian Open title, had an excellent start at this first Grand Slam of 2025 with an impressive victory that propelled her into the second round, where she has never reached the semi-finals. The 23-year-old Polish tennis player delivered a high-level performance against the formidable Czech player Katerina Siniakova, world number one in doubles, winning 6-3, 6-4 at the end of a match which lasted 1 hour and 21 minutes. The next challenge for Swiatek will be Slovakia’s Rebeka Sramkova, ranked 49th at the WTA, who finished 2024 strong, including a run to the final of the Billie Jean King Cup.
Meanwhile, Belarusian veteran Victoria Azarenka, ranked 22nd at the WTA and champion of this tournament in 2011 and 2012, was eliminated in the first round. The former world number one, aged 35, was beaten by the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, ranked 78th in the world, who created a surprise by winning 6-2, 7-6(2) after two hours of Thu. Azarenka was the only seeded player to exit the tournament within the first six hours of the second round of the Australian Open, with player Linda Noskova the only other to lose on Sunday.
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