Preview WTA Brisbane International Final: Aryna Sabalenka defends crown against in-form Marta Kostyuk

The first WTA 500 final of the season will once again feature World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion of the tournament. She will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who returns to a final for the first time in almost two years since her last appearance at this stage and will be seeking her second WTA-level title.

While Sabalenka left Australian Open 2025 champion Madison Keys along the way, Kostyuk can boast three consecutive wins over Top 10 players at the tournament, all in straight sets. She will now look for her first career victory against a reigning World No. 1.

Barely into the new season, the four-time major champion has already begun to show her status as one of the favourites for the year ahead, overcoming difficult opponents in a tough Brisbane draw. The Belarusian has recorded 18 wins in her last 20 matches and, so far, has not dropped a set at the tournament.

Sabalenka (No. 1) defeated Cristiana Bucsa (No. 50), Sorana Cirstea (No. 41), Madison Keys (No. 7) — in a rematch and revenge for the Australian Open 2025 final — and Czech Karolina Muchova (No. 20), all without conceding a set. The World No. 1 faced some complications in closing out the win against Muchova, missing up to three match points, but eventually secured the victory in around an hour and a half.

“There were a lot of close misses at the end of the second set but I’m super happy to close this match in straight sets,” Sabalenka said after the match. “She’s a great opponent and I knew that if I gave her that opportunity in the last games, she would take it, and it would be a bit trickier to play. I’m super happy I got the win.”

The Ukrainian (No. 26) entered the tournament as the 16th seed and had a demanding path to the final, defeating three Top 10 opponents along the way, while conceding only one set — in the first round against lucky loser Yulia Putintseva (No. 74). She then overcame several heavyweights of the Tour with convincing wins over Amanda Anisimova (No. 4), Mirra Andreeva (No. 9) and Jessica Pegula (No. 6). Against Pegula, she needed just 55 minutes and dropped only three games in her most impressive performance of the tournament.

Kostyuk reached her first final since April 2024 after a 2025 season in which she achieved solid results but repeatedly failed to make deep runs, not reaching a single semifinal all year. This time, the 23-year-old has started the season refreshed, showing she is ready to take a step forward in the new campaign.

“I started unbelievably and, you know, we’re all human beings so I was, like, it’s going to end at some point today — maybe not today — but I’m very happy with how I stayed until the end of the match,” Kostyuk said after beating Pegula. “It’s never easy when you’re up 6-0 3-0… Jess is an amazing player, Top 10 for many years,” she added.

It will be the fifth meeting between Sabalenka and Kostyuk so far, with the Belarusian holding a dominant 4–0 lead in their head-to-head. The Ukrainian has come close on several occasions but has fallen short, losing all three tie-breaks they have played — even missing set points in past clashes in Madrid and Rome in 2025. Their only previous hard-court meeting dates back to Dubai 2022, where Kostyuk managed to win just five games.

However, this time Kostyuk arrives at the final more mature and with three Top 10 victories at the tournament — more than she achieved throughout the entire 2025 season. The 23-year-old has only one career title, won at the WTA 250 ATX Open in 2023, while she fell short in the WTA 500 finals of San Diego and Stuttgart in 2024. In Brisbane, she will be chasing her first WTA 500 title and the second of her career, as well as a significant rankings boost. She has already secured a return to the Top 20, and a victory would see her rise to No. 18, in addition to moving into the top position in the WTA Race.

On the other side, Sabalenka has already contested 40 finals in her career, holding a 21–19 record in championship matches (5–7 at WTA 500 level). The World No. 1 will be aiming to defend her title in Brisbane and extend her winning streak at the tournament to ten consecutive victories. She fell in the 2024 final but lifted the trophy in 2025, defeating Polina Kudermetova.