Former Wimbledon women’s singles champion Elena Rybakina has reached the third round of the Australian Open 2025 as she continues her hunt for the title Down Under. Runner-up in 2023, Rybakina is seeded sixth and got the better of Iva Jovic of the United States 6-0, 6-3. The win sees her take another step towards the Australian Open title having shown her class on the court. Former French Open champion Iga Swiatek also booked her place in the next round after a dominating win.
Rybakina in next round
Playing at the John Cain Arena, 25-year-old Rybakina was at her fluent best winning the opening set in a clean sweep. She scored 18 winners in the opening set while breaking her opponent on three occasions. She also had a hundred per cent record with her net shots winning all six. Rybakina’s 60 per cent first serve also proved to be the decisive factor on her way to the third round.
She will next face 32nd seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine as the competition gets tougher for her.
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While Poland's Swiatek was racing past world number 49 Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena, Britain's Raducanu was entering uncharted waters on the nearby Kia Arena. Raducanu had reached the second round in Melbourne on three previous occasions but never advanced further. She was forced to battle in a topsy-turvy match against her good friend Amanda Anisimova, both players exchanging multiple breaks before she came through 6-3, 7-5.
On Melbourne Park's centre court, Swiatek broke the Slovakian's opening service game and never looked back. Sramkova was playing in a Grand Slam second round for the first time and had no answer to the precision and power of the Pole.