Sabalenka lifts Brisbane title after tense final with Kostyuk

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka clinched her second successive Brisbane International title on Sunday, defeating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 in a final marked by high-intensity tennis and a notably frosty post-match exchange.

Sabalenka, appearing in her third consecutive Brisbane final, wrapped up the contest in one hour and 17 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena to secure her 22nd career title. The tournament serves as a key warm-up event ahead of the Australian Open, which begins on January 18.

The final began at a brisk pace, with Kostyuk attacking Sabalenka’s second serve and briefly unsettling the top seed through deft drop shots to recover an early break. Sabalenka, however, soon asserted control, using sustained baseline pressure and tactical awareness to edge the opening set in 40 minutes amid humid conditions.

As the physical demands took their toll on Kostyuk, Sabalenka raised her level in the second set. Mixing powerful groundstrokes with well-timed drop shots, the Belarusian forced errors from her opponent to close out the match, completing the tournament without dropping a set.

Tensions surfaced immediately after match point, when Sabalenka kissed both her biceps while looking towards Kostyuk, a gesture widely interpreted as a reference to past remarks made by the Ukrainian. Kostyuk has previously said comments from a 2024 interview were taken out of context, but relations between the two have remained strained since her refusal to shake Sabalenka’s hand after their French Open meeting in 2023.

The strained atmosphere carried into the trophy presentation. Kostyuk spoke emotionally about the situation in Ukraine but did not refer to Sabalenka by name.

“I want to say a few words about Ukraine,” Kostyuk said. “I play every day with a pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now, it's minus 20 degrees outside right now, so it's very, very painful to live this reality every day.

"I was incredibly moved and happy to see so many Ukrainian fans and flags here this week … Slava Ukraini.”

Sabalenka, for her part, congratulated Kostyuk and expressed hope of meeting her again in a future final. She also shared a light-hearted moment during her victory speech, directing a playful remark at her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis.

“Hopefully soon I will call you somehow else,” Sabalenka said looking at Frangulis in the player's box. “That just put extra pressure, right?”

Later on Sunday, top seed Daniil Medvedev was scheduled to face Brandon Nakashima in the men’s final. Medvedev is chasing his 22nd career title, while Nakashima is contesting his first ATP Tour final in four years.