The world number three has made it to the next round of the Australian Open

The third-ranked player in the world, Elena Rybakina, has advanced to the second round of the Australian Open.

The representative from Kazakhstan secured a victory in one of the most prestigious first-round matches. Rybakina managed to defeat Czech player Karolina Pliskova, ranked 38th in the WTA standings, in straight sets.

In the first set, the athletes reached a tiebreak, which Rybakina won 8-6. In the second set, Pliskova secured four games, but Rybakina ultimately triumphed. The entire match took 1 hour and 34 minutes.

In the second round, Rybakina will face the 57th-ranked Anna Blinkova, who successfully navigated through the first round against Spanish player Cristina Bucsa.

During the Australian Open 2023, Rybakina reached the final but was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.

As a reminder, world number one Iga Swiatek kicked off the tournament with an easy win over the world number 41.