After the game, Sabalenka entertained the Melbourne crowd with some dances on the pitch and built a large following on social media by posting videos of her dancing with her team on TikTok.

She quickly became a fan favorite and then took a photo of the crowd with a Polaroid camera before expressing her disappointment when she realized she had run out of film.

The top seed will face Spanish Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the next round, who eliminated British hopeful Sonay Kartal.

Rain marred action on the outdoor courts on the first day of the first Grand Slam of the season, but the roof of Rod Laver Arena was open in time for Sabalenka’s evening match after Zheng Qinwen, her opponent in last year’s final, earlier defeated Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni had.

Sabalenka ended 2024 as world number one for the first time and began her season in Australia as the two-time defending champion and top seed. She looked to be in good form and took a 4-0 lead.

But Stephens, adept on hardcourt as a former US Open champion, was able to push Sabalenka back and managed to counter twice to make it 4-3 as Sabalenka made a series of unforced errors.

Sabalenka was often animated on the pitch, shouting in frustration at every mistake and waving her arms in exasperation.

What looked like an uncomplicated opening set of her season turned out to be more difficult, but the three-time Grand Slam champion converted her fifth break point to make it 5-3 and then took the set.

Sabalenka secured another double break in the second set, this time maintaining her lead over Stephens, who hasn’t won a match since Wimbledon last year.

The 31-year-old’s dismal form at the Australian Open continued as she exited the tournament in the first round for the fourth time in five appearances.

The win means Sabalenka has now won 28 of her last 29 matches at hard-court Slams since the start of 2023, and has won 15 straight matches at the Australian Open and 17 straight sets.

It is the first time in her career that she has been seeded number one at a Grand Slam and after winning the Brisbane International last week she looks in good shape to achieve a historic ‘three-peat’.