British number one Katie Boulter cruised past Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets at the San Diego Open.
The 27-year-old beat world number 36 Tsurenko 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 10 minutes on her tournament debut.
Boulter is ranked 49 in the world but the result means she could rise to a career-high 43 when the next rankings are released.
She will face 13th-ranked Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.
Boulter has not played since January when she missed out on a place in the quarter-final of the Linz Open in Austria, but against Tsurenko, who withdrew from her past two matches because of an elbow injury, she was dominant.
