This Week in Tennis: Sabalenka Earns Another…

Sabalenka Opens 2026 with Another Win in Brisbane

Aryna Sabalenka opened her campaign the same way she did last year, by winning the Brisbane International title.

This time, the world No. 1 defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 to claim her 22nd career title, the third most among active WTA players behind Venus Williams and Iga Swiatek.

Sabalenka went through the entire tournament without dropping a set and appears to be in fine form for the Australian Open, which is set to begin on Sunday. She is looking to win the season’s opening major for the third time in the past four years after lifting the trophy in Melbourne in 2023 and 2024.

Read also: Who can be 2026's Mboko, Boisson?

On the ATP Tour, former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev opened his 2026 season with a win in Brisbane over Brandon Nakashima. Medvedev snapped a two-and-a-half-year title drought last October in Almaty and has seemingly carried his momentum over to 2026.

Raonic Calls it a Career

Canadian tennis legend Milos Raonic announced his retirement from professional tennis on Sunday evening.

“The time has come, I am retiring from tennis. This is a moment you know will come one day, but somehow you never feel ready for it. This is as ready as I will ever be. Tennis has been my love and obsession for most of my life,” Raonic posted on social media.

“Thank you to Canada. My family and I came over more than 30 years ago. Thanks to you, I pursued tennis, thanks to you, it changed my family's life, and I enjoyed every moment of the opportunity to represent you all around the world.”

Read also: Atmane and other men to watch in 2026

The “Missile” from Thornhill, ON, was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, winning eight ATP titles while reaching the Wimbledon final in 2016. The 35-year-old ends his career with an impressive 92-37 record at Grand Slams and a 383–184 record overall.

He last competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics but was unable to resume his ATP career due to injuries.

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Poland Wins United Cup

After finishing as the runner-up for two consecutive years, Poland got over the hump and defeated Switzerland to win the United Cup on Sunday.

Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa beat Jakub Paul and Belinda Bencic in the deciding mixed doubles match to claim the 2-1 victory.

Bencic opened the final with a stunning win over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, but Poland mounted the comeback with a Hubert Hurkacz singles win over Stan Wawrinka, followed by the clinching doubles victory.

All Winners This Week:

WTA 500 - Brisbane

Women’s Singles: Aryna Sabalenka (1/22)* d. Marta Kostyuk

Women’s Doubles: Su Wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko d. Cristina Busca and Ellen Perez

WTA 250 - Auckland

Women’s Singles: Elina Svitolina (1/19)* d. Xinyu Wang

Women’s Doubles: Hanyu Guo and Kristina Mladenovic d. Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang

ATP 250 - Brisbane

Men’s Singles: Daniil Medvedev (1/22)* d. Brandon Nakashima

Men’s Doubles: Francisco Cabral and Lucas Miedler d. Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool

ATP 250 - Hong Kong

Men’s Singles: Alexander Bublik (1/9)* d. Lorenzo Musetti

Men’s Doubles: Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego d. Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev

* 2026 Titles/Career Titles

The WTA's best return to Toronto next summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at Sobeys Stadium. Get your tickets today!

The ATP's best return to Montreal next summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at IGA Stadium. Get your tickets today!

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