Aryna Sabalenka put her recent clay-court struggles behind her in the first round of the French Open as she cruised past Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Sabalenka suffered shock exits at both the Italian and Madrid Opens, but she needed just one hour and 15 minutes to record a 6-4 6-2 win over the Spaniard.

The world number one was on the front foot from the start, with two early breaks putting her in control at 4-0 up, but Bouzas Maneiro soon fought back.

Two breaks ensured that Bouzas Maneiro kept Sabalenka under pressure, but even after she clawed back to 5-4, the Belarusian clinched the first set with another break.

Sabalenka then raced into another strong lead in the second, this time reeling off the first five games as Bouzas Maneiro struggled to get on the board.

She attempted an improbable comeback, getting a third break of the match to make it 5-2, but could only hold off the first of Sabalenka's match points as another double fault sealed her fate.

Aryna Sabalenka at Grand Slams #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/FfXDWdiWZT

— wta (@WTA) May 26, 2026

Joining her in the second round is Emma Navarro, who continued the fine form that saw her win the Strasbourg Open by beating Janice Tjen 6-4 6-3.

She will face Iva Jovic for the second time in as many weeks, after the number 17 seed came through her highly anticipated clash with Alexandra Eala 6-4 6-2.

Data Debrief: No stopping Sabalenka in first round

Sabalenka has now won each of her last 22 first-round matches at grand slam events, with her last loss at this stage coming against Carla Suarez Navarro at the 2020 Australian Open.

Indeed, the last time she dropped a set in the first round of a major was four years ago, to Chloe Paquet at Roland-Garros in 2022. She was knocked out in the third round of that tournament, which also marks the last time she failed to reach a grand slam semi-final.

Since her first grand slam appearance as the world number one at the Australian Open 2025, only Jannik Sinner (currently 31) and Carlos Alcaraz (31) have claimed more such singles wins than Sabalenka (30).