SYDNEY, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three of the top women's singles contenders at the Brisbane International, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva, all opened their 2026 season with wins on Wednesday.
Playing their first competitive matches in 2026 after all receiving first round byes in Brisbane, Anisimova, Pegula and Andreeva all won in under two hours to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open warm-up event.
Anisimova, the second seed in Brisbane, had the most dominant performance of the three, defeating Australia's Kimberly Birrell 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and three minutes in the night session.
"I miss competing so much so it's really good to be back," Anisimova said on court after the match.
"The first match of the year is always going to be tough so I was actually really pleased with the way I was playing."
Pegula faced a tougher challenge against world number 33 Anna Kalinskaya, prevailing 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in one hour and 54 minutes.
It was the fifth time that Pegula and Kalinskaya have played each other in a competitive match, with all five meetings going to three sets.
Andreeva was also challenged, losing the first set to Australia's Olivia Gadecki before coming back to win the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Anisimova plays 16th seed Marta Kostyuk in the round of 16, while Pegula faces Dayana Yastremska and Andreeva faces ninth seed Linda Noskova.
In the men's draw, top seed Daniil Medvedev hit nine aces in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Frances Tiafoe on Wednesday. ■
