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World number 1 Aryna Sabalenka won back-to-back Brisbane International titles as she avoided becoming Marta Kostyuk’s latest top-10 scalp in Sunday’s final.
Sabalenka won 6-4 6-3 in an hour and 17 minutes to retain the trophy she first won a year ago by beating Polina Kudermetova and did not drop a set all week.
Kostyuk had beaten Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula in straight sets en route to the final, but fell short against Sabalenka’s powerful groundstrokes as her hopes of a second career title, after the ATX Open in March 2023, were dashed.
Sabalenka now has 22 career titles, the third most of any active player on the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka – who now has 22 titles, third among active WTA players behind Iga Swiatek (25) and Venus Williams (49) – will look to carry that form into the Australian Open starting January 18.
The Belarusian has reached the last three finals in Melbourne, beating Elena Rybakina in 2023 then Zheng Quinwen a year later before losing to Madison Keys in 2025.
Sabalenka gained some revenge on Keys this week in Brisbane by beating the American 6-3 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Kostyuk: I play every day with pain in my heart
Finalist Marta Kostyuk beat three top 10 players en route to Brisbane final
After his defeat, Kostyuk spoke passionately about the plight of the Ukrainian population after further Russian bombing, saying: “I play every day with pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are currently without light or hot water.
“It’s minus 20 degrees outside, so it’s very, very painful to live this reality every day. It’s very hot in Brisbane so it’s hard to imagine. But my sister sleeps under three blankets because of how cold it is at home.”
In New Zealand, Kostyuk’s fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina won a 19th career title by beating China’s Xinyu Wang 6-3 7-6 (8-6) to win the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Elina Svitolina kisses the trophy after winning the ASB Classic in Auckland, her 19th career title
Top seed Svitolina had come back from the brink in her quarter-final against Britain’s Sonay Kartal earlier in the week, with Kartal serving for the match at 5-3 in the deciding set before losing 7-5 in the tie-break.
Svitolina said after winning the title: “It’s amazing, especially after a not great end to the season.
“It was good to have some tough matches here this week and win the final. Hopefully we can build on that for the rest of the season.”
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