Sabalenka Holds, Rybakina Eliminated

BRISBANE, FRIDAY — The WTA 500 Brisbane champion over the past two years has had a different journey in the same tournament in 2026. Aryna Sabalenka still has a chance to defend her title, while Elena Rybakina (2024 champion) was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

In the match at the Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Australia, on Friday (9/1/2026), Sabalenka defeated Madsion Keys with a score of 6-3, 6-3. Following that, Rybakina was defeated by Karolina Muchova with a score of 2-6, 6-2, 4-6.

A year ago, Sabalenka and Keys also met in Australia, specifically in the final of the Australian Open Grand Slam in Melbourne. Sabalenka lost, and Keys secured her first title in the Grand Slam arena.

Amidst the matches at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells in March 2025, which was won by Sabalenka, they competed again in Australia, this time at one of the warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open. Keys struggled to cope with Sabalenka's aggressive play, especially as her serve was poor, making it easy for her opponent to return.

Another factor that prevented Keys from competing with Sabalenka was her physical condition, which was not in optimal shape. She played less than 24 hours after defeating Diana Shnaider in a three-hour match in the third round.

"I am trying to practice all the preparations made during the preseason training, such as playing close to the net. I also practiced my serve a lot, and today it was a little better," said Sabalenka.

The victory in the quarter-finals serves not only as a warning for Keys to defend her Australian Open title, which will take place this year from January 18 to February 1. Sabalenka's performance since the second round (after receiving a bye in the first round) up to the quarter-finals has become a warning signal for other players who often challenge her, such as Rybakina and Iga Swiatek.

Unlike Sabalenka, Rybakina failed to show her best form. She gave Muchova an advantage by making 42 unforced errors.

On the other hand, Muchova performed solidly, managing to halt Rybakina's consistency, who had won 11 out of 12 matches by the end of 2025. From mid-October to early November, Rybakina won the WTA 500 Ningbo and the WTA Finals. While claiming the WTA Finals title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rybakina triumphed over top world players such as Rybakina, Swiatek, and Jessica Pegula.

"I am happy to be able to play here after missing several tournaments in Australia due to injury. I enjoy the atmosphere and competition here," said Muchova on the WTA website.

The Czech tennis player often struggles with injuries despite being able to challenge top world players. After becoming a finalist at the 2023 French Open, she suffered from alternating wrist injuries on both hands. At the end of 2023, Muchova experienced an injury to her left wrist, which led her to withdraw from the WTA Finals. This injury required her to undergo surgery in February 2024.

In mid-2025, an injury to his right wrist caused him to miss the competition on clay courts, including the French Open. Then, at the end of 2025, he suffered an ankle injury.

However, when in a healthy and fit condition, Muchova poses a threat to anyone, including Sabalenka. Muchova leads 3-1 in the head-to-head statistics against the world number one, but their last meeting took place in 2024. Three out of their four encounters went to three sets.

"We last met 1.5 years ago, and the situation is different now. We have also become different players compared to that time. Our matches have always been closely contested," said Muchova.

In addition to Sabalenka facing Muchova, another semifinal will take place between Pegula and Marta Kostyuk. Pegula won against Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals, while Kostyuk defeated Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (7), 6-3. (AFP)