Tennis News: Aryna Sabalenka wins in Brisbane but Naomi Osaka suffers a setback

Aryna Sabalenka picked up where she left off in late 2024 by winning her first tournament of the year. The Belarusian won the Brisbane International, her first title at the tournament. With the victory, Sabalenka increased her point lead over WTA No. 2 Iga Swiatek by a bit over 400 points to lead Swiatek by 1,556 points when the new rankings come out on Monday.

Swiatek failed to win her final match at the United Cup when she lost to WTA No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-4 6-4. Taylor Fritz then defeated Hubert Hurkacz in three sets to seal the victory for the United States. It was the second time in three years that the US had won the event.

As far as Sabalenka is concerned, though, she dropped the first set in Brisbane to feisty Polina Kudermetova. The 21-year-old was ranked No. 107 but certainly outplayed her ranking at the tournament. She has yet to win a title on the WTA tour, but she showed enough potential to win one in 2025. Still, Sabalenka is No. 1 for a reason.

Aryna Sabalenka starts her year win a win, but Naomi Osaka gets a new injury

She rarely is out of a match, and her serve and powerful forehand are often too much for her opponent. The Belarusian won the last two sets fairly easily 6-3 6-2. She will enter the Australian Open as the top seed, and she should. She has won the Grand Slam in each of the last two years.

Naomi Osaka made her first final in nearly three years when she took on Clara Tauson at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. The former No. 1 took the first set 6-4 and led 5-1 at one point before Tauson tried to make a comeback. Osaka, however, could not continue after the first set as she sought treatment for what appeared to be a lower abdomen issue.

Her retirement gave Tauson her third career title. The hope is that Osaka, who had played some of her best tennis in years at the event, is healthy enough to compete at the Australian Open that begins next week.

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