MELBOURNE, Australia – Third-seeded Coco Gauff had some familiar issues on serve but still had enough class and power to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-3 on Monday in a first-round match at the Australian Open.
Gauff has won two Grand Slam titles, but has never advanced beyond the semi-finals at Melbourne Park. Last year she was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
The American suffered from double faults and scored 431 on the WTA Tour in 2025, by far the most of any player. No one else had more than 300. Gauff had six in the first set against Rakhimova and only one in the second set.
“I mean, it was only the first set,” Gauff said. “I only had one double in the second. I think we both struggled on the other end. The sun is shining out there, and I know that every time I play first here, that’s the way it is.”
“But once I got through the first game, I had three doubles in the first game, and once I got through that game, I mean it was pretty much smooth sailing from then on. Maybe I definitely would have liked to put more first serves on the court.”
Gauff, 21, has been reworking her serve in recent months and she did some more practice during a comfort break in the Rod Laver Arena match with Rakhimova, 24.
Gauff will face the left-handed Olga Danilovic in the second round. Danilovic, also 24, defeated 45-year-old Venus Williams in a first-round match on Sunday, erasing the possibility of the two Americans facing each other.
‘There aren’t many [left-handed players] on Tour, but Olga is a great player. She has beaten some top players, so it will be a tough match,” Gauff said.
In other matches, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, runner-up at the last two majors, advanced 6-3, 6-2 against Simona Waltert, No. 6 Jessica Pegula beat Anastasia Zakharova 6-2, 6-1 and No. 14 Clara Tauson had a 6-3, 6-3 win over Dalma Galfi.
Sofia Kenin’s poor recent run at the Australian Open continued as she lost 6-3, 6-2 to compatriot Peyton Stearns.
Kenin, ranked 27, was a surprise winner here in 2020. But she has since struggled at Melbourne Park, losing in the first round for the fifth time in a row.
Stearns fired 15 aces and had just one double fault as she advanced to the second round in 1 hour and 14 minutes. She will next play against Petra Marcinko from Croatia.
Priscilla Hon also secured her first trip to the second round of her home major in six years and also helped her opponent Marina Stakusic leave the court in a wheelchair after the Canadian qualifier collapsed late in the deciding set with severe leg cramps.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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