Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa are up and running at the Brisbane International with a win in their doubles opener.
Sabalenka and Badosa, who last played doubles together in 2022, defeated Zhang Shuai and Liudmila Samsonova.
They emerged victorious 7-6(7-2), 7-6(7-3) in their Brisbane International opener, and now meet Ellen Perez and Cristina Bucsa.
Both Sabalenka and Badosa are also playing singles at the tournament, which will be used as preparation for the Australian Open.
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Paula Badosa messages Aryna Sabalenka after Brisbane win
The Spaniard has returned to the court after a challenging 2025, with Badosa ending her 2025 season early.
Injury heavily impacted her chances of success, but the WTA number 25 is now back to winning ways alongside the world number one.
Sharing images of the duo’s win on Instagram, Badosa wrote: “Prefer to have you on my side of the court.
“First win of the year with Aryna Sabalenka. Sabadosa is back.”
Aryna Sabalenka is the perfect doubles partner for Paula Badosa
It really is fantastic to see Badosa back on the court and winning again, but also having fun and smiling along the way.
She had a frustrating end to 2025 but started it in superb fashion, making it all the way to the semifinals of the Australian Open.
It was ironically Sabalenka who knocked the Spaniard out of the Grand Slam, but she has clearly forgiven her for that.
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Badosa and Sabalenka share a really close friendship, and that was evident in their first doubles outing since the 2022 Madrid Open.
That friendship makes the Belarusian the perfect partner to help the Spaniard get back on her feet, with Sabalenka knowing her WTA rival more than most.
Her previous success in Brisbane should also benefit Badosa, with Sabalenka the defending singles champion.
The world number one could also meet Bucsa in this year’s singles event, while Badosa will take on Marie Bouzkova in her first match.
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