Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, reacts after winning a point during her semi-final match against Karolína Muchova, of the Czech Republic at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, January 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated Karolina Muchová 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday (January 10, 2026) to advance to the Brisbane International final.
Sabalenka, the defending Brisbane champion, clinched the semi-final at Pat Rafter Arena on her fourth match point to advance to Sunday’s (January 11, 2026) final against the winner of a later semi-final between fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula and Marta Kostyuk.
On Friday (January 9, 2026), in a rematch of last year’s Australian Open final, Sabalenka broke Madison Keys’ serve in five straight service games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Last year at Melbourne Park, Keys beat Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam singles title.
The Brisbane International is a tune-up event for this year’s Australian Open, which begins January 18. In the men’s tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semi-final. Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.
Published – January 10, 2026 10:05 am IST
