Aryna Sabalenka fought back to advance from her opening round match against Rebecca Sramkova at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday (October 8).
The world no. 1 secured a 4-6 6-3 6-1 against her Slovakian opponent to book a spot in the last 32 of the WTA 1000 event.
The slow start Sabalenka got off to in Wuhan likely stemmed from Wednesday's match marking her first appearance on the court since winning the US Open last month.
The 27-year-old's latest win maintains her perfect record in the Hubei capital, as the three-time winner of the event is now 18-0 in career matches there.
With a successful return to the court now under her belt, the four-time Grand Slam winner will be hoping she can take home a fourth successive title in Wuhan.
A successful defence in the River City would hand Sabalenka a third WTA 1000 title this year, after she triumphed in Miami and Madrid.
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How Sabalenka's return unfolded
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Sabalenka appeared out of sorts from the start against Sramkova, as double faults from her led to the world no. 68 landing a break in the very first game.
The recently crowned winner at Flushing Meadows responded with an immediate break, but Sramkova landed a successive break in the third game and held onto her serve from that moment to eventually take the opening set.
The top seed managed to find the crucial break in the fourth game of the second set to go 3-1 up, before she fought off five break opportunities from Sramkova in a tough seventh game to lead 5-2.
After serving out to level the contest, Sabalenka carried forward her positive momentum by landing a break in the opening game of the deciding set.
The defending champion then secured a double-break in the fifth game, before fighting off four break points to establish a 5-1 lead over Sramkova.
Sabalenka then converted the second of her match point opportunities on her opponent's serve to book her place in the next round after nearly two hours of action in Wuhan.
Afterwards, the world's best player praised Sramkova and reflected on her return to the court.
"I have to say she played incredible tennis, especially in the first set and there was not much I could do," the 27-year-old said in her on-court interview.
"I knew after my little break, it would not be easy to get back into my rhythm but I'm really glad in the second set I found my game and I stepped in and played really great."
Sabalenka will face Liudmilla Samsonova in the next round tomorrow (October 9), after the 16th seed beat Sofia Kenin in her round of 32 contest.
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