Sabalenka Holds Off Kudermetova To Win First Brisbane Title

Sabalenka holds off Kudermetova to win first Brisbane title (Image Source: IANS)

Queensland Tennis Centre: Aryna Sabalenka won her second Brisbane International title to enjoy a perfect start to her 2025 WTA Tour season. This was her fourth trophy Down Under since 2023.

Sabalenka came back from a set down to defeat the 21-year-old qualifier Polina Kudermetova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the women's singles final to secure her 18th career title. The Belarusian won her first Brisbane title in 2023, when the event was held in Adelaide. In that final, she beat another qualifier, Linda Noskova.

Kudermetova was chasing her eighth straight win at the Queensland Tennis Centre, having earlier taken down seeds Liudmila Samsonova and Daria Kasatkina en route, but found arguably her finest in the first set of her first encounter with a World No.1.

"I want to congrats Polina on an impressive week from the qualies all the way to the final, so I’m pretty sure many more to come. You guys are definitely doing the right things. Honestly, I really want to know every speed of our shots today. I think it’s going beat the record for sure. That was a pretty aggressive game…

"Always a fun time in Brisbane. Thank you Brisbane for having me. All the fnas, thank you guys for supporting me. I felt all of the support from the very beginning of the week til the very last point. I really appreciate it and that’s why I love playing in Australia and in Brisbane. Just overall in Australia because you guys are amazing," Sabalenka said.

Kudermetova came through qualifying and navigated a difficult draw just to make her first WTA final. She notched the first Top 10 win of her career this week when she rallied to beat World No.9 Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Round of 16. She defeated Wang Xinyu, Liudmila Samsonova, Ashlyn Krueger, and Anhelina Kalinina to win five consecutive matches for the first time in her career.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka has now claimed 16 of her 18 titles on hard court, including two at Melbourne Park, one at Adelaide and Sunday’s Brisbane decider. Last year, she fell just short to Elena Rybakina in the final.

Kudermetova came through qualifying and navigated a difficult draw just to make her first WTA final. She notched the first Top 10 win of her career this week when she rallied to beat World No.9 Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Round of 16. She defeated Wang Xinyu, Liudmila Samsonova, Ashlyn Krueger, and Anhelina Kalinina to win five consecutive matches for the first time in her career.

Article Source: IANS