In front of empty stands in the bubble at IMG Academy, Florida, the WNBA season opened up with a Swedish superstar on the field.
Amanda Zahui, 26, has this season been given a major leadership role in a young New York Liberty who was put to the test already in the premiere in the form of the Seattle Storm.
Seattle, with stars such as Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird on the team, distanced Liberty to eight points in the first quarter, a lead they never lost and the final score was 87-71.
Zahui, who did her best to push on her teammates, played 23 minutes on which she accounted for, ten points, eight rebounds and two assists.
The best scorer in the match was Seattle's Breanna Stewart with 18 points.
Zahui and her Liberty get a chance to revenge themselves for the premiere loss already on Wednesday when the Dallas Wings face the opposition.