Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka got off to a perfect start into the new season and underlined her status as favorite for the Australian Open.
The world number one from Belarus won the final of the WTA tournament in Brisbane 6:4, 6:3 against the Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk and successfully defended her title.
The hard court specialist is heading into the first Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne, which begins on January 18th, with plenty of tailwind. In 2023 she won her first major title at the Australian Open; last year she lost the final against the American Madison Keys.
Elina Switolina is also traveling to Melbourne with a lot of momentum. The Ukrainian defeated the Chinese Wang Xinyu 6:3, 7:6 (8:6) in the final of the tournament in Auckland and celebrated her 19th title on the WTA tour.
At the Australian Open, three quarter-final appearances are the best result for the world number 13.