The Australian tennis veteran, once ranked as high as No.16 in the world, had to qualify for the tournament, securing his first spot in an ATP 1000 main draw in seven years.
Tomic, who made a name for himself by making the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2011 as an 18-year-old, had scrapped his way back into a top-level tournament after beating Kazakhstan's Timofey Skatov 7-5 6-4 in the final round of qualifying in Shanghai.
However, he couldn't maintain that momentum on Thursday, beaten 6-3 6-1 by Italy's world No.38 Matteo Arnaldi.
Both players had impressive first-serve numbers, with the Aussie landing 70 per cent, while the Italian was even more accurate with 87 per cent.
But whereas Arnaldi was able to convert four of the seven break points he set up, Tomic couldn't make the most of his four opportunities.
Despite the lopsided scoreboard, 33-year-old Tomic, who has had numerous off-court issues throughout his career, has done well to battle back from a ranking low of No.825 four years ago to his current No.186.
The Australian has said 2026 will likely be his last year on tour.
There was no joy for the other Australian in action on Thursday, with James Duckworth putting up a solid effort before bowing out against world No.34 Hubert Hurkacz.
Duckworth, currently ranked No.64, took the challenge up to the Polish star, who reached a high of No.6 in the world in 2024.
Hurkacz, who won the Shanghai Masters in 2023, claimed the first set comfortably, before the Australian pushed the second set to a tiebreak, with the Pole eventually winning 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
In other first-round action on Thursday, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-3 7-5 as he also continued his slow climb back up the rankings.
Tsitsipas, who reached a career-high No.3 in 2021, had to win two qualifying matches to get into the main draw at last week's Japan Open, where he lost in the second round. At his previous tournament, the US Open, he lost in the fourth round to eventual finalist Ben Shelton.
After slipping to No.87 mid-year, the two-time major finalist has worked his way up to No.43.
The top-seeded players in Shanghai, including US Open champion Alexander Zverev and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, received first-round byes.
World No.1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from the tournament earlier in the week, the Italian taking the rest of the season off with a right knee injury.
- with AP
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