Aryna Sabalenka has already won her first title of the 2026 season after defending the Brisbane International.
Sabalenka received criticism for playing Nick Kyrgios and for her involvement in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match prior to the 2026 season getting underway.
However, the world number one looked to put this behind her, with Sabalenka showcasing improvements to her game at her first tournament of the year.
This enabled her to reach her third consecutive final in Brisbane, where Sabalenka would beat Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk.
Everything Aryna Sabalenka said after winning the Brisbane International
Sabalenka beat Kostyuk, 6-4 6-3, to win her first title of the year and defend the Brisbane International.
Due to the nationalities of both players they did not shake hands at the net, but Sabalenka did have some words for Kostyuk in the post-match ceremony.
When addressing the world number 26, Sabalenka praised Kostyuk for her strong start to the year and expressed her wish to play against her in finals to come.
“First of all I want to start by congratulating Marta and her team for an incredible start of the season,” said Sabalenka. “I wish you all the best and this season it seems like it’s going to be great tennis and I hope we are going to meet each other many more times in the finals to show great tennis.
“I want to thank all of the sponsors who make this tournament happen, ANZ, Queensland government, of course thank you Cameron for taking the best care of me, special thanks to Lindsay who was doing everything she could to do everything for us. Thank you guys, you treat us like queens.
“Thank you so much and of course you guys thank you so much for bringing such an incredible atmosphere, and I see all of the posters you are holding. This is motivation for me to keep pushing forward, thank you so much for bringing the best support.
“Last but not least, thank you my team for handling me, I’m really the toughest one to handle and you guys are really the toughest ones in the world if you can handle me, thank you guys I love you and thank you to my boyfriend, hopefully soon I will call you something else, right? Let’s just put extra pressure right. Thank you, I really enjoyed it, thank you.”
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What Marta Kostyuk said after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in Brisbane
Prior to Sabalenka taking to the stage, Kostyuk also had a few words after losing her third successive WTA 500 final.
While she did not specifically name Sabalenka, Kostyuk did thank all of the opponents she had played at the Brisbane International.
“Hello everyone,” began Kostyuk. “First of all I want to say thank you to all the volunteers, all the ball kids, Martina, everyone involved in creating this tournament, ANZ, Queensland government, yeah hundreds and thousands of people who make this tournament possible for us and thank you to amazing crowd this week, I had an unbelievable week and it was amazing to play in front of you.
“…I want to thank all my opponents I played this week, you push me to better every week. I want to thank my team, I’m sorry I lost another final it’s been three already, but maybe next one I’m going to get, not maybe but for sure and thank you so much for your support. Thank you to my husband for being by my side this week and thank you so much everyone.”
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Despite being unable to take home the title, Kostyuk is now confirmed to return to the top 20 in the WTA rankings on Monday.
Kostyuk was scheduled to compete in the Adelaide International, but after withdrawing from the tournament she will now head straight to Melbourne for the Australian Open like Sabalenka.
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