‘Frosty’ exchange mars Sabalenka triumph
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA—Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has captured her second consecutive Brisbane International title, and 22nd overall, with a straight-sets victory over Marta Kostyuk on Sunday.
It was the third year in a row Sabalenka appeared in the final and the Belarusian player looked in comfortable surroundings as she closed out a 6-4, 6-3 victory in just 1 hour and 17 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena.
The Brisbane International is a tune-up event for this year’s Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
Kostyuk went hard early by attacking Sabalenka’s second serve, clawing back an early break with sublime drop shots that briefly rattled the world’s top-ranked player.
However, the Belarusian’s relentless intensity and match-smarts proved decisive as she exploited the oppressive Brisbane humidity with punishing baseline rallies to clinch the opening set in 40 minutes.
Raking groundstrokes
As Kostyuk wilted under the physical strain, Sabalenka accelerated in the second set.
With a mix of raking groundstrokes and deceptive drop shots, she forced a mounting error count from the Ukrainian to close out the match without dropping a set all week.
After sealing the victory, Sabalenka looked down the court at Kostyuk and kissed both biceps—a likely nod to previous comments by the Ukrainian that she possessed higher testosterone levels than other players.
Kostyuk has said the comments made in an interview last year had been taken out of context, but further the tensions between the pair since the Ukrainian’s refusal to shake Sabalenka’s hand after a match at the French Open in 2023.
‘Slava Ukraini’
The exchange resulted in a frosty post-match presentation. During the trophy ceremony, Kostyuk spoke passionately about her homeland but notably declined to mention 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, meanwhile, congratulated Kostyuk, stating she hoped they would meet in another final soon. She also took a cheeky dig at her boyfriend, Georgios Franguli,s during her victory speech.
“Hopefully, soon I will call you somehow else,” Sabalenka said looking at Frangulis in the player’s box. “That just put extra pressure, right?”
