Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova finished her performance at the Australian Open 2026 very early, which was definitely not expected from her. The 44th racket of the world (before the start of the tournament) lost in the first round to Chinese Bai Zhuoxuan, who before the start of the tournament was only 697th in the WTA rankings. Almost three hours of struggle, a comeback during the match and a nervous outcome in the tiebreak – 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (10:12). For a tournament of the level of the Australian Open, this defeat can already be attributed to the most notorious stories of the start of the main draw.

Lost initiative, return to the game and tension until the last play

The beginning of the meeting did not foretell trouble, but Pavlyuchenkova’s game did not go well. In the fifth game, the Chinese woman forced a fight on the return and made a break – 3:2. This immediately added nervousness to the Russian woman’s actions. At the end of the game, Bai Zhuoxuan again took advantage of her opponent’s mistakes and led 5:2. Pavlyuchenkova managed to immediately win back one serve and reduce the gap – 3:5, but was no longer able to turn the tide of the game. After 47 minutes, the first set was won by the Chinese – 6:4.

In the second game, Pavlyuchenkova finally began to impose her tempo on her opponent. In the sixth game she achieved a break and took the lead – 4:2. Her boxing became noticeably calmer, and strikes from the baseline began to land more often. At the end of the set, Anastasia once again took her opponent’s serve and confidently closed the game – 6:2. At that moment, it seemed that the difference in class would still have an effect, and the match would gradually come under the control of the Russian.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova / Photo: © Matthew Stockman / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The decisive set began with a cold shower for the favorite. The Chinese woman immediately made a break and took the lead – 1:0. Pavlyuchenkova quickly returned serve, equalized the score, and after 2:2 the game went into error-waiting mode. Both tennis players confidently won games on their serves. The stands actively supported the Russian, and on the court one could regularly hear: “Anastasia, we love you.”

Nevertheless, there were no more breaks, and the fate of the match was decided by a tiebreaker up to 10 points. It turned out to be nervous and protracted. Bai Zhuoxuan played more carefully in key rallies and put the pressure on her opponent – 12:10. The final score of the meeting was 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (10:12).

The numbers behind which the problem is hidden

The match lasted 2 hours 43 minutes and turned out to be eventful; the statistics of the game explain a lot. Pavlyuchenkova completed seven aces – a solid indicator, but eight double faults regularly brought her opponent back into the game. The situation with break points is also not the most rosy: only four out of 11 opportunities were realized.

Bai Zhuoxuan’s performance is more modest: two aces, three double faults, three breaks out of 10 attempts. The Chinese played simpler, but calmer – and this was enough to withstand the pressure and wait for her chances.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova / Photo: © Maddie Meyer / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

For Pavlyuchenkova, the Australian Open 2026 ended, in fact, immediately after the start. The defeat from the 697th racket in the world (in the new ranking she is 702nd) is a painful blow to both ambitions and ranking prospects, even taking into account the equal fight and tiebreaker in the decisive set. But for Zhuoxuan Bai this match became the main event of her career. In the second round she will meet with the first racket of the world – Aryna Sabalenka. After such a victory, the Chinese woman will definitely take to the court without an extra burden of responsibility – she has already done everything she could.