The reigning champion in New York for the past two years managed to secure the match with a strong first serve that her opponent sent back into the net.
Sabalinka said after the match in her on-court interview that she is "very happy" with her level, especially in the first set, and expressed her joy at returning to New York.
She added about her return to the "Arthur Ashe" court, where she won two of her four Grand Slam titles, "It's incredible. I feel like this is one of my favorite courts."
Sabalinka arrived in New York after a series of disappointing results lately, as she has not won any titles since her victory in the Miami tournament in March.
She showed some regression in the later stages of the match, having committed a double fault on the first point to clinch the match.
However, she succeeded in directing her strong groundstrokes enough to dominate most points, and she occasionally resorted to short balls and finishing exchanges at the net after her opponent's high shots.
Sabalinka had started the year strongly, winning the Brisbane tournament and reaching the Australian Open final, where she lost to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in three sets.
She quickly responded to that loss by achieving the "Sunshine Double" by winning titles in Indian Wells and Miami, but she has not competed for any titles since then.
She exited the French Open quarterfinals and then was eliminated from Wimbledon in the fourth round by Japan's Naomi Osaka.
In the men's competition, Frenchman Arthur Fils, the recent Cincinnati Masters champion, faced disappointment after being knocked out in his first match against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-4.
Fils (22 years old) entered the match under the highest expectations of his career, having become the first French player to win a title in the Masters 1000 tournaments in over a decade this month.
The French player had won all five of his previous encounters with Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas, a former top-five ranked player who has dropped to 53, said, "I am speechless, I don't know what to say."
He added, "It's a great start to the tournament."