Brisbane International Day One Round-up | Tiafoe and Tien progress, Kasatkina falters at first hurdle while Sabalenka and Kyrgios triumph in double clashes

The first day of the Brisbane International has not disappointed, with dramatic action across the ATP and WTA events from single success to intriguing double ties.

Players are looking to get themselves in the best shape for the upcoming Australian Open, taking place from January 18 - February 1, and a competitions like the one being hosted in Brisbane is perfect for high competition.

There was only two matches on the ATP event, which unlike the WTA tournament is a 250 event. It was a pair of Americans who stole the headlines. Frances Tiafoe marked his return to the court with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Aleksandar Vukic while Next Gen ATP Finals champion Learner Tien found a way past Camilo Ugo Carabelli 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Tiafoe had made the executive decision to skip the remaining events of 2025 halfway through the Asian swing after a barren spell of form and results. Fresh and reinvigorated, he wasted no time in getting back in the winning enclosure. There was two spells where he won three games on the spin in the first set, comfortably gaining the upper hand on his Aussie opponent. The exact same pattern emerged in the second set, almost a carbon copy. He wrapped up proceedings in exactly an hour, with a possible tie against Daniil Medvedev on the table.

The eighth seed Tien enjoyed a fabulous rise up the rankings in 2025, now firmly slotting himself among the best players in the world. It was not as simple for him compared to his fellow American. There was an early trade of breaks before it relatively straightforward first set culminated in a tiebreaker. Tien rose to the occasion, winning four of the last five points to get a set on the board. He took the fifth break point on offer in the second set, sprinting into a 4-1 lead. From there, he controlled the rest of the contest, dumping out the Argentinian tennis player and moving into the next round.

Similar to Tiafoe, Daria Kasatkina has had some time away from the spotlight. She makes her return to the WTA circuit in her native Australia, looking to put on a show for the home crowd. Unfortunately, she was defeated by Anastasia Potopova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

It was Potapova's first match as an Austrian after her nation change in the off-season. Kasatkina won four games on the spin to go 4-2 ahead, but Potapova was able to claw back the deficit. She grabbed a late break to clinch set one, but it was on level terms 46 minutes later due to a late break this time found by Kasatkina. Potapova had the advantage for the majority of the this set, breaking early on and holding to go 5-3 ahead. It was desperate times for Kasatkina, who found a crucial break to stay in the match before being broken a game later. This was for the match, with Kasatkina unable to live up to the expectations of the home crowd.

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin got off to a winning start against Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. After a tight first two sets, a double break advantage for Kenin saw her storm into a 4-0 lead in the third. Ruse was able to get one back but this was overturned right at the end when Kenin got the job done on her opponent's serve to set up a tie with the seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Fellow American McCartney Kessler grabbed a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over Emiliana Arango, while Ajla Tomljanovic was the first Aussie to progress with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Elsa Jacquemot.

There were a trio of Romanians in action. Just the one remains, and that is Sorana Cirstea after downing former Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-1. Jacqueline Cristain joined Ruse in leaving the competition at the first hurdle, losing out 6-4, 6-3 to Marie Bouzkova.

It was a triumphant reunion between Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa in the doubles. In a match with zero breaks, they kept their cool to win over Liudmila Samsonova and Shuai Zhang 7-6, 7-6. The two very good friends and world class tennis players will soon take to the court in singles action, but along with that they dream of a title together.

Sabalenka had been in the news for the wrong reasons via the Battle of the Sexes. The winner, Nick Kyrgios, was also competing in Brisbane. He will be hoping for a more drawn-out comeback, and it will continue in this event as he and Thanasi Kokkinakis got the better of Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram 5-7, 6-4, 10-8. The Aussie's famously teamed up to win the Australian Open doubles title together back in 2022. They will be hoping for a similar run in Brisbane.