Aryna Sabalenka talks jewelry collab, selfies with Rod Laver, Roger Federer at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia—“This is the treat for you guys,” said a beaming Aryna Sabalenka as she arrived to press not 15 minutes after her first-round win at the 2026 Australian Open.

While she joked about preferring to be “unpredictable” with her play, her quick trip to the press room has become a habit for the world No. 1, arriving in her match dress and often carrying her racquet bag.

Sabalenka evidently left her bag in the locker room, sporting instead the pieces from her new jewelry collaboration with Material Good.

“I'm super excited about this partnership,” Sabalenka said after a 6-4, 6-1 win on Sunday evening. “Like, first time I met them, I think last year in New York. I even bought my birthday gift there. I really love the boutique they have. I love the team. They're very creative, very fun. Really fits my team well.”

“Yeah, I'm super excited of this partnership because they give me this space to design things, to be creative, to be unique. They understand me really well. They know me well. They do such a beautiful pieces like this.

The necklace appeared to be an homage to the evil eye necklace Sabalenka has long worn to court, and the good luck helped her navigate a tricky match against French wild card Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah.

“First of all, it's the first match, right? You're always kind of trying to figure out where you are,” Sabalenka explained of her slow start. “And, also, that opponent that I never played before. I haven't really watched her games before and kind of, like, lose her out of my radar. So I didn't really know much about her. I was just struggling to find the rhythm of her shots.

“I'm happy that I could manage and I could get this win in straight sets.”

Along with finding her rhythm, Sabalenka dealt with the additional pressure of seeing legends Roger Federer and Rod Laver—for whom the stadium was named—sitting front row.

“I'm a huge fan,” said Sabalenka, who asked the iconic duo for a selfie after the match. “Yeah, the whole match I was just telling myself, do not look there, please, do not look!

“But yeah, it's incredible. I would never thought that Roger Federer and Rod Laver are going to be sitting first row watching my match. Yeah, that's unbelievable.”

Coming to net 22 times against Rakotomanga Rajaonah, was the top seed inspired by Federer and Laver’s all-court play?

“Yes, of course, I just wanted to impress Roger with my game!” said Sabalenka. “I just couldn't do tweener, but it's okay. Next time…”

Sabalenka will be back on court for her second round against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Bai Zhouxuan.