World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her clay-court season with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over American Peyton Stearns at the Mutua Madrid Open, marking her first match on clay since completing the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami. The three-time Madrid champion looked rusty after taking three weeks off, but battled through to secure the win in straight sets.

Sabalenka, who was named sportswoman of the year at the Laureus awards on Monday, received support from an unlikely source in her player's box: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Former British No. 1 Laura Robson noted Sabalenka handled the altitude and Stearns' aggressive game well, adding: "It wasn't her best performance but the good thing is she's still winning in straight sets."

Meanwhile, defending champion Iga Swiatek cruised to a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over qualifier Daria Snigur in just 61 minutes, winning six games in a row in the second set. The Polish star, who grew up as a devoted fan of Rafael Nadal, revealed she received coaching advice from the 22-time Grand Slam champion during a training block at his academy in Majorca.

In other results, Elina Svitolina suffered a shock 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Hungary's Anna Bondar, who became the first Hungarian to beat a top 10 player since Timea Babos in 2018.