Sabalenka beats Andreeva in Brisbane semis for 40th career win in Australia

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka had all the answers against No.16 Mirra Andreeva, winning 6-3, 6-2 to advance to return to the Brisbane International final. The win is the two-time Australian Open champion’s 40th victory on the continent.

Awaiting Sabalenka in the final is No.107 and qualifier Polina Kudermetova.

Sabalenka won the tournament in 2023 when it was held in Adelaide and finished runner-up last year to Elena Rybakina.

Brisbane: Draws | Scores | Order of Play

Sabalenka advanced to her first final of the new season without the loss of a set. En route to the final, she has notched wins over Renata Zarazua, Yulia Putintseva, Marie Bouzkova and Andreeva. To best Andreeva, Sabalenka saved all eight break points she faced to snuff out the teenager’s hopes for an upset.

“It’s always the same tactic for me: stay aggressive and put my opponent under so much pressure,” Sabalenka said. “I’m really glad that against Mirra I was able to play such aggressive tennis. Seems like everything was working really well for me.

“She’s an amazing, young player. I’m pretty sure she’s going to be Top 10 soon and for so long.”

Andreeva was playing her second WTA 500 semifinal, having made her first last fall in Ningbo. Andreeva laid her intentions bare from the outset, generating three break point chances in Sabalenka’s opening service game. But as she would prove throughout the 90-minute match, the World No.1 has already honed her ability to bring her best when she needs it.

Sabalenka gamely wiped out Andreeva’s chances and continued to do so, saving a fourth break point to hold to 4-3. There, Andreeva let down her guard, playing an errant game to give Sabalenka the sole break of the first set.

With a set in hand, Sabalenka opened up her shoulders and cranked up her velocity. Sabalenka broke Andreeva twice more in the second set to secure the win.

Sabalenka finished with 26 winners to 22 unforced errors. Andreeva more than held her own, hitting 23 winners to 26 unforced errors. But the youngester could not overcome her 0 for 8 rate on break point chances.

Sabalenka will face Kudermetova, who came through qualifying to make her first WTA final. The 21-year-old built on her successful end to the 2024 season, where she made the quarterfinals in Seoul and semifinals in Merida.

After successfully qualifying, Kudermetova defeated Wang Xinyu, Liumila Samsonova, No.3 seed Daria Kasatkina, Ashlyn Krueger, and Anhelina Kalinina to make the biggest final of her career. On Saturday, Kudermetova eased past Kalinina with a 6-4, 6-3 win.