Brisbane, Australia – January 11, 2026
Marta Kostyuk title run came to an unfortunate end as World #1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated our Ukrainian tennis star 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Brisbane International tennis tournament.
Kostyuk was having a great tournament, defeating top ten players Amanda Anisimova (USA), Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula (USA) on her way to the finals. See her match results below.
Early in the final match, Kostyuk’s strategy was to attack Sabalenka’s second serve, showing some success and briefly rattling the world #1. However, Sabalenka’s relentless intensity and powerful groundstrokes proved decisive to clinch the opening set 6-4 in 40 minutes.
The second set was very difficult as the Brisbane heat appeared to be too much for Kostyuk to endure. One break of serve at the start of the second set proved enough for Sabalenka to see off the world number 26 as Kostyuk fired into the net on her first championship point, losing 6-3 in the second set.
Kostyuk struggled to hold back tears as she spoke to the Brisbane crowd about conditions at home in Ukraine, where officials have been battling to repair heating and water supplies damaged by Russian bombing.
“I wanna say a few words about Ukraine,” she began. “I play every day with pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now. It’s -20°C outside. It’s very painful to live this reality every day.”
“My sister sleeps under three blankets because of the cold at home,” she shared.
The tennis player also expressed how moved and grateful she was to see so many Ukrainian flags throughout the week.
Overall, while the defeat was obviously disappointing, Kostyuk can take away a lot of positives from making it to her first final in over 2 years. Her level of play during the course of the tournament showed a great improvement from last year and express high hopes for having a successful 2026 season.
