Aryna Sabalenka is two wins away from defending her Brisbane International title.
But standing in her path is a red-hot Karolina Muchova, fresh off a three-set upset of No.3 seed Elena Rybakina and holding a 3–1 head-to-head advantage over the world No. 1.
Sabalenka is yet to drop a set in 2026. The 27-year-old, who has held the WTA No.1 ranking for 64 consecutive weeks, showed no signs of slowing down with a commanding 6-3 6-3 victory over Madison Keys – their first meeting on Australian soil since the AO 2025 final.
Sabalenka has won 36 of her past 38 matches in Australia and should she defeat Muchova, would extend her Brisbane winning streak to nine matches. She is chasing a second Brisbane International title and a third straight final at the WTA 500-level event, having lifted the trophy in 2025 and reached the final in 2024.
Since the tournament’s inception in 2009, only three players have won multiple titles at the event: former world No.1s Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova and Victoria Azarenka.
“I’m always super motivated when I come to Australia. I love playing here. I want to stay here as long as possible,” Sabalenka said, pointing to the atmosphere and engagement of Australian crowds as a major source of motivation.
“I think the people. I think the atmosphere, like here, it’s always a full crowd. Everyone is really engaging a lot with tennis. Also [in] Melbourne, the support there is incredible.”
Meanwhile, Muchova recorded her most significant win since the China Open in 2024, where she defeated both Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng to reach the final. The Czech, who has battled chronic injury setbacks, took three sets to snap No.3 seed Elena Rybakina’s 13-match win streak.
“It was a very tough match … [Rybakina] is a very good athlete, top-3 or top-5 player, so I’m just glad I was able to serve it out,” Muchova said.
Muchova’s road to the semifinal has also included wins over Alja Tomljanovic and seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. Beyond her China Open run two years ago, she has also beaten Sabalenka on hard court in Cincinnati and on clay at Roland Garros in 2023; Sabalenka’s lone win in the rivalry came in 2019.
With 17 wins over top-10 opponents, Muchova’s tactical finesse and creativity presents a complex challenge for Sabalenka’s raw power game.
On the other side of the draw, fourth seed Jessica Pegula defeated Italy’s Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 7-6(3) to book a semifinal clash with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
Two years after reaching the quarterfinals in Brisbane, Kostyuk upset No.2 seed Amanda Anisimova and No.6 Mirra Andreeva to advance to her first WTA 500 semifinal since Stuttgart in April 2024.
“I can say it 100 times -- it’s incredible to play in front of such a crowd. I never mind if people cheer against me. I just want the energy to keep going,” said Kostyuk, who is seeking to defeat three top-10 opponents at a single tournament for the first time since Stuttgart.
Making her debut at the event, Pegula has claimed nine career WTA titles, six of them on hard courts. She holds a 4–1 head-to-head edge over Kostyuk, with recent wins at Miami and the China Open.
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