Ex-Aus Open No. 1 wins first win after two surgeries

33-year-old former world number one and Czech tennis player Karolina Plishkova (WTA1057) made a successful start at the 2026 Australian Open.

In the first round, the Czech beat the 32-year-old American in two sets Sloan Stevens (WTA 1102) in 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Australian Open 2026. 1/64 of the final

Karolina Plishkova (Czech Republic) – Slovan Stevens (USA) [Q] – 7:6 (9:7), 6:2

This was the eighth face-to-face confrontation between the rivals. Carolina defeated Sloan for the second time.

Pliskova won her first Tour-level victory since the 2024 US Open. Since then, Karolina has undergone two ankle surgeries.

Stevens started at the Australian Open as a qualifier. In the selection, the American defeated Barbora Palitsova, Olivia Gabecki and Lucia Bronzetti.

In the second round of the major, Pliskova will fight against the representative of Indonesia Janis Tjen, who knocked out the 22nd seed Leila Fernandez.

Video review of the match

Photo gallery of the match

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