Victoria Azarenka defeated Sofia Kenning 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) on Monday to become the only former Australian Open champion to remain in the women’s draw.
Azarenka, the 24th seed from Belarus, won the title at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013, while American Kenin won the Daphne Astor Cup in 2020.
The 2022 champion Ashbati and Serena Williams both retired, and the 2019 and 2021 champion Naomi Osaka was absent due to pregnancy, which means that Kenning and Azarenka are the only two previous women’s singles champions.
But Kenning had a tough time as she struggled through a series of injuries and her only Grand Slam win was let down by her form.
She has slipped to No. 203 in the world and is chasing her first victory over a top-25 opponent since beating then No. 11 Petra Kvitova at the French Open in 2020.
Still, veteran world No. 24 Azarenka admitted she was on edge ahead of the match at the Margaret Court Arena.
“It’s a lot of pressure, you wouldn’t think I would be nervous, but it means a lot to me,” the 33-year-old said.
“I try to get over those emotions, but they happen.”
Azarenka will face either France’s Leoria Janjan or Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska in the second round.
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