Aryna Sabalenka vs Sloane Stephens live: Australian Open latest scores and results

A ruthless start from Sabalenka, who dictates the points right from the start to cruise into a 4-0 lead in the first set. Stephens is unable to disrupt the rhythm of the defending champion, who has picked up where she left off last year.

Here we go. Aryna Sabalenka opens her bid of three Australian Open titles in a row against former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Overall, Sabalenka stands with a 27-1 combined record at the last four hard-court grand slams. Last year, she won a second Australian Open title without dropping a set and overcoming Jessica Pegula to win the US Open despite a near-wobble will only imbue the new World No 1 with more confidence as she looks to maintain her dominant form.

As she begins her bid for a three-peat, a feat not achieved at the Australian Open since Martina Hingis won three in a row between 1997 and 1999, it is the American Gauff who perhaps stands as her closest rival for the title. Here, opponent Stephens has not won match since last year’s Wimbledon.

Casper Ruud survived a scare to advance to the fifth round, after the Norwegian was taken to five sets by Spain’s Jaume Munar.

Ruud, the sixth seed, proved too strong in the deciding set to claim a 6-3 1-6 7-5 2-6 6-1 victory in three hours and 21 minutes.

Kei Nishikori fought his way to a brilliant win over Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7(4) 7-5 6-2 6-3, as the 35-year-old saved two match points in a thriller.

Nishikori, a four-time quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, has made an extraordinary comeback to tennis after struggles with injury.

Elsewhere, Arthur Fils came from a set down to beat Otto Virtanen 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 6-4. The 20-year-old Frenchman, seeded 20th in the men’s draw, is up and running.

Olympic champion and last year’s runner-up Qinwen Zheng got her Australian Open campaign off to a winning start as champion defeated Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni 7-6(3) 6-1.

17-year-old 14th seed Mirra Andreeva became the first player to move into the second round after the teenager beat Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-3.

And elsewhere in the women’s draw, Croatian 18th seed Donna Vekic, runner-up at the Paris Olympics, defeated France’s Diane Parry 6-4 6-4.

Play was suspended for up to six hours on the opening day of the Australian Open due to torrential rain at Melbourne Park.

Play continued under closed roofs on the four showcourts and a fixture backlog is less likely after an extra day was added to the tournament last year.

There have been just six matches completed so far.

Iga Swiatek remains the undisputed queen of clay after winning her third French Open title in a row in 2024. However, the five-time major champion lost her position at World No 1 to Aryna Sabalenka and under-performed at the other grand slams, particularly on the hard courts at the Australian Open and US Open.

Since then, Swiatek’s turbulent off-season was dominated by her one-month suspension for a doping violation, but it also brought a change of coach. The Australian Open will see her work with Wim Fissette, a former coach of Naomi Osaka and Kim Clijsters, and the first test will be improving her record at Melbourne Park – where the Polish star has lost in the fourth and third round in the last two years.

The good news for Swiatek, though, is that the draw has been fairly kind and Coco Gauff has landed on the same side as Sabalenka, as well as Qinwen Zheng and Jessica Pegula. There was a time not too long ago where the 23-year-old Swiatek was the favourite for every tournament she entered. The dynamic is different now, which may suit her, but Swiatek is likely to face a battle with herself as much as those who stand in front of her.

The 2024 tennis season signalled the end of the ‘Big Three’ era. For the first time since 2002, none of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal won a grand slam, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz splitting the majors. While Djokovic’s performances in winning Olympic gold suggested he is not quite done yet, do Sinner and Alcaraz dominate the grand slams once again in 2025 – or will someone else get a look in at long last?

Alexander Zverev got even closer to a grand slam breakthrough last year, reaching the French Open final as well as the semi-finals of the Australian Open and quarter-finals of the US Open. If there is a first-time winner, the German’s consistency marks him as favourite among the non-grand slam champions, but the tough defeats continue to leave their mark: last year, Zverev was beaten by rival Daniil Medvedev from two sets up, and similarly blew the French Open final against Alcaraz. This year’s draw does him no favours, either.

Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, was impressive in his run to the US Open final, only for Sinner to find a different level. There is potential for a rematch in the semi-finals, and it will be a test of Fritz as the No 4 seed to see if he can reach that point. Three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev struggled for form over the second half of last year and Fritz can display some authority against up-and-coming threats such as Ben Shelton and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Sinner, though, is a different calibre.

All eyes have been on the Australian Open ever since Alcaraz captured his first Roland Garros title at the French Open last June. In Melbourne, the 21-year-old Spaniard will have the first of three opportunities to break Rafael Nadal’s record and become the youngest man to achieve the career grand slam, a feat his legendary compatriot achieved at the age of 24.

Alcaraz is already the youngest man in history to win grand slams on the three different surfaces, and he added a second Wimbledon title to his French Open and US Open triumphs in July. The Australian Open is what is missing, with the opening grand slam of the year the tournament where Alcaraz has had the least success so far in his career.

Last year, Alcaraz went down to an inspired Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. This year, the draw puts him on a collision course with Novak Djokovic in the last eight, with Zverev a potential opponent in the semi-finals and Jannik Sinner on the other half of the draw. It’s as tough a draw as it gets, with even Britain’s Jack Draper a threat in the fourth round.

It’s safe to say a player of Alcaraz’s ability has a very good chance of winning the Australian Open at some point. But, with a new serving motion on display following the pre-season, that will invariably need some work, is it too early to shatter the career slam record?

Expectations for the British number one have soared since his run to the semi-finals of the US Open last summer and he goes into the first grand slam of the new season as the 15th seed and a dark horse.

Draper was unable to start his season as planned at the United Cup because of a hip problem picked up in winter training, which also forced him to miss a week in Spain with Carlos Alcaraz.

Then, within half an hour, Novak Djokovic was on the phone with an offer: Murray’s long-time rival, and the winner of 24 grand slam titles, was asking him for help, presenting the “unique opportunity” of joining his team for the Australian Open. Murray was shocked, but interested. Within weeks of retiring at the Paris Olympics, the pull of the game was too strong to resist.