Aryna Sabalenka says she is starting to put her "heartbreaking" Australian Open final defeat behind her after winning her Indian Wells opener.

Sabalenka suffered early exits at the Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships following her grand slam loss but was in full control as she earned a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over McCartney Kessler on Saturday.

The world number one did not face a single break point and won 86% of her first-serve points in an impressive serving display.

It was a tight first set, with both players matching each other well, though Sabalenka found her edge in the tie-break before she took the set on her second attempt.

Sabalenka earned her first break in the first game of the second set, and Kessler struggled to find a way back in before eventually losing her serve again in the final game.

"I'd say that after the final in Australia, I was really heartbroken," she told reporters.

"It was very difficult to recover after that one, and Middle East I was kind of like, in my thoughts, I was trying to understand.

Sweet victory @SabalenkaA takes out Kessler after an exciting match 7-6(4), 6-3!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/b03x3lbVAC

— wta (@WTA) March 9, 2025

"I was always thinking about that match. It was probably my mistake, but I think I had to go through it, I had to realise couple of things.

"I had to step back and start everything over again. Right now, I'm definitely feeling better, and that final was in the past.

"Just good experience, great lesson, and hopefully it will never happen again."

Since Indian Wells 2018, where Sabalenka registered her first win in a WTA-1000 event, no player has won as many WTA-1000 matches as her during this period (110).

The Belarusian's win also kept the number one seed at Indian Wells unbeaten in her opening match since the tournament’s inception in 1989.

Sabalenka will face Lucia Bronzetti in the next round.