Ashleigh Barty will be up against it to make the semi-finals for consecutive years at the WTA Elite Trophy after a straight-sets defeat in the first round of the round robin event.

The 20-year-old Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka had all the answers on Tuesday, dispatching the Australian 6-4 6-4 in Zhuhai.

In her first tournament in a month after resting a shoulder injury, Barty was sluggish out of the blocks, losing her opening service game.

It was the only break of the set as the Queenslander struggled to make inroads on the towering Sabalenka’s serve.

The second set stayed on serve until Barty fashioned a break for a 3-2 lead but her failure to consolidate quickly cost her.

Sabalenka won three consecutive games before ultimately serving out the match.

It was deja vu for Barty whose last loss on tour was against Sabalenka in the semi-finals at Wuhan last month.

Top seed Daria Kasatkina overcame a stern test from Wang Qiang in her opening match, outlasting the local favourite 6-1 2-6 7-5.

Kasatkina, competing as a top-10 player for the first time, broke her opponent twice to claim the opening set.

But Wang, China’s top-ranked player, rebounded with a string of aggressive groundstrokes to force a decider.

The final set was a topsy-turvy affair with nine successive games against serve before Kasatkina finally held her delivery together to clinch the victory in just under two hours.

The 21-year-old Russian will next face American Madison Keys in Azalea Group, with a victory guaranteeing Kasatkina a spot in the semis.

Belgium’s Elise Mertens needed just 66 minutes to defeat Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-3 6-1 and move to the top of the Rose Group, which also features defending champion Julia Goerges.

The Elite Trophy features the world’s top 12 singles players who did not qualify for the WTA Finals last week.