Aryna Sabalenka responded to her Indian Wells final defeat with a comfortable victory over Viktoriya Tomova in her first match in Miami.

Aryna Sabalenka started her Miami Open campaign with a statement victory over Viktoriya Tomova on Thursday.

Sabalenka, who is yet to go beyond the quarter-finals of the competition, emerged a 6-3 6-0 victor over her Bulgarian opponent in just 58 minutes.

The world number one did, however, start slowly, conceding a break to Tomova in the first game of the opening set, but she soon found her groove.

After claiming the advantage, Sabalenka surged through the second set to book her place in the next round.

"I cannot complain about my season," Sabalenka told reporters.

"Of course, I lost the two biggest finals. But it's only a lesson, not that big of a loss, to be honest. I feel like my tennis is getting better every day.

"Of course, Miami, there is only one thing everyone wants here is to win the title. I really hope I can play same way I played at Indian Wells and improve in the finals.

"Get a little bit better in those last stages of the tournament, maybe be less stressed and more focused on myself. Let’s just take it step by step."

Sabalenka's reward for her win is a tie against Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who has beaten Polina Kudermetova and Magdalena Frech on her way to round three.

Data Debrief: Sabalenka continues sensational 2025

After losing out to Mirra Andreeva in the Indian Wells final last time out, Sabalenka responded with an emphatic display in Miami.

Indeed, her victory against Tomova improved Sabalenka's record to 18-4 in 2025, with only teenager Andreeva (19-3) boasting more wins on the WTA Tour this season.

But the Belarusian's win also continued a remarkable trend concerning world number ones at the Miami Open.

The women at the top of the rankings are undefeated in their opening matches at the tournament (30-0 in the 30 editions of the competition).