Melbourne, Jan 19 || Coco Gauff, the No. 3 seed, opened her Australian Open 2026 campaign with a straight-sets 6-2, 6-3 win over Kamilla Rakhimova at Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
The victory marked the American youngsters's 75th career Grand Slam match win and improved her first-round Slam record to 23–4. Despite serving struggles that included seven double faults, Gauff controlled the match, overcoming early pressure and closing it out in 1 hour and 39 minutes.
“I try not to put so much pressure on myself with the first round. I just want to win the tournament, so whether I lose first round or in the finals, I don’t think I would be as satisfied so until then, I’m only okay. Winning is the only satisfying result, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of myself throughout the tournament. I’ll only be satisfied if I win,” Gauff said after the game.
Rakhimova showed resilience against Gauff, saving three set points to hold serve at 2–5 in the opening set, but the latter stayed composed and sealed it with an unreturnable serve.