Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Zhouxuan Bai Preview & Prediction | 2026 Australian Open | First Round
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The first-round of the Australian Open sees Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova take on Zhouxuan Bai.
Start date/time:
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Outdoor hard
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & Tennis Channel
Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Zhouxuan Bai ticket information
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Zhouxuan Bai prediction
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova got her season underway in Brisbane but lost in the first-round after a comprehensive defeat against Sorana Cirstea. She performed strongly at the Australian Open last year, making the quarter-finals. When fit, the Russian can perform well on hard courts with heavy groundstrokes off both wings, along with plenty of experience at this point of her career. She is ranked 44 in the world.
The Russian faces Zhouxuan Bai in the first-round. The Chinese player, who reached a high of 83 in the world during the early part of 2024, won all three of her qualifying matches to enter the main draw in Melbourne. She has only one main draw Grand Slam victory to her name in her career, but she will view this as an opportunity.
Pavlyuchenkova should come through this comfortably. She will look to assert herself early and her experience, power and control make her well placed to advance to the next round.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Zhouxuan Bai tip: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win 2-0
