SYDNEY, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- World number one Aryna Sabalenka won her 22nd career singles title and first of 2026 by beating Marta Kostyuk in the Brisbane International final on Sunday.

Sabalenka defeated Kostyuk, the world number 26, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes on Sunday evening to win the Brisbane International title for the second consecutive year.

The victory over Kostyuk completed Sabalenka's flawless run at the Australian Open warm-up event where she did not lose a set in her five matches.

It made Sabalenka the third women's player in the tournament's 17-year history to win consecutive titles at the Brisbane International and improved her record in matches in Australia since the start of 2023 to 38 wins and two losses.

Sabalenka broke the serve of Kostyuk, who had beaten three top-10 opponents to reach the final, in the first and second sets to take 3-0 leads in both.

The Ukrainian was able to break back in the first set, but could not do so in the second, as Sabalenka set up two championship points with an ace up the middle and converted the first with a powerful wide serve that Kostyuk could not return.

Sabalenka is aiming to win a third Australian Open title in four years at the upcoming Grand Slam tournament when the main draw starts in Melbourne on January 18. ■