Aryna Sabalenka faces a stacked top half of the draw in her bid to reassert dominance from the off in 2026 at the Brisbane International.
The reigning women’s champion could meet Grand Slam champions 14th seed Jelena Ostapenko, fifth seed Madison Keys and third seed Elena Rybakina in succession just to reach the title match in her Brisbane title defence.
All three defeated her in a final last season – Keys in a classic Australian Open decider, Ostapenko for the keys to a new Porsche in Stuttgart and Rybakina in the last hit-out of the season for the biggest prize money in women’s sport history at the WTA Finals.
Following an opening-round bye, top seed Sabalenka will meet Spain’s Cristina Bucsa or a qualifier in her first match of the new season before the potential showdown with Latvian Ostapenko.
Third seed Rybakina could run into former world No.2 Paula Badosa in a heavy-hitting tussle just to reach the quarterfinals where seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova or 11th seed Karolina Muchova could await.
A fourth major champion, Australian Open 2020 winner Sofia Kenin, is also in a loaded top half as is Aussie No.1 Daria Kasatkina. They open against a qualifier and Austria’s Anastasia Potapova respectively.
Second seed Amanda Anisimova will begin her Brisbane campaign against local favourite Kimberly Birrell or a qualifier and could run into Ukrainian 16th seed Marta Kostyuk for a quarterfinal berth.
Sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, a semifinalist in Brisbane last year, is slated to meet Anisimova in the last eight but could face dangerous ninth seed Linda Noskova in the round of 16. Andreeva and Noskova split meetings at the past two Brisbane Internationals.
Fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula and Danish eighth seed Clara Tauson are expected to square off in the quarterfinals for the change to potentially meet Anisimova or Andreeva in the last four.
Two Czechs on the comeback, former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and three-time Brisbane champion Karolina Pliskova, loom as unseeded threats in the bottom half.
For the second year running in the men’s draw, home favourite Nick Kyrgios begins a comeback from injury in Brisbane.
The Aussie, a champion at Pat Rafter Arena in 2018, takes on American Aleksandar Kovacevic first up and could meet seventh-seeded Brit Cameron Norrie in the second round.
Fourth seed Tommy Paul heads that quarter of the draw but would need to down giant-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard first to advance.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev could face former world No.10 Frances Tiafoe, Joao Fonseca – the only teenager in the top 100 – and reigning champion Jiri Lehecka consecutively for a shot at his second final at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
The former world No.1, who ended an 882-day title drought in Almaty in October, fell to Kei Nishikori in the 2019 Brisbane final. He begins his 2026 campaign against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
Sixth seed Fonseca faces a daunting opening hurdle in towering Reilly Opelka, the former top-20 American responsible for ending Novak Djokovic’s run at Pat Rafter Arena last year.
Third seed Lehecka used his Brisbane success as a launchpad to a career-best season in which he ended in the top 20 for the time. He faces a tough ask in the first round against fellow Czech and friend Tomas Machac and could meet eighth seed Learner Tien in the quarterfinals.
Second seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina opens his bid for a maiden tour title against American Brandon Nakashima and could meet Australian Alexei Popryin in the second round.
Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Tickets for the Brisbane International are on sale via Ticketmaster. Prices start at $30. Premium Experiences are on sale via Ticketmaster and the Premium Experiences Team.