Petra Kvitova finally won a match as a mother on a day when Kimberley Birrell became the first Australian out of the Italian Open.
Birrell lost to Briton Sonay Kartel 3-6 6-4 6-3, but the main focus in Rome on Tuesday was on 35-year-old Kvitova.
The former Wimbledon champion, who gave birth to son Petr in July, had lost all four of her matches since making a comeback in February after 15 months away.
The drought ended with a 7-5 6-1 first round victory over Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu.
"It's kind of weird that my first one came here," the Czech said. "I've never played my best tennis here. But it feels much better than losing, that's for sure."
Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014 and reached world No.2, said she had doubted she would return to playing.
"I was 95% that I would never come back," she said. "I had enough of tennis at that time. I was like, 'I can't do it any more,' so we decided to try for a baby.
"I didn't say anything because it wasn't 100%. When I could do something finally after pregnancy, I played some tennis and it felt so good. I was laughing. Every shot I hit smoothly, I was like, 'Wowwww -- it's still there'."
Kvitova faces Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, seeded 27, in the second round.
Birrell's exit leaves three Australians in the main draw after Alja Tomljanovic beat compatriot Olivia Gadecki in the final round of qualifying.
She now plays Varvara Gracheva, of France. Another Australian qualifier, Maya Joint, meets former US Open champ Emma Raducanu.
New Australian No.1 Daria Kasatkina, seeded 14, has a bye to the second round.
New Zealand's Lulu Sun beat wildcard Georgia Pedone 3-6 6-1 6-3 and now plays another Italian in Jasmine Paolini, seeded sixth.
