Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa will both kick off their respective 2026 seasons at the Brisbane International. Both players, who are known to be very close friends off the court, will partner one another at the WTA 500 event and they will lock horns with Liudmila Samsonova and Shuai Zhang.
Sabalenka and Badosa both had contrasting 2025 seasons. The Belarussian finished another year as the World No. 1, winning the US Open and two WTA 1000 events. Badosa had a few promising performances at the start, most notably reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open. However, injuries hampered her season.
Samsonova did not have the best of seasons in 2025 but she did produce some good performances in both singles and doubles. The Russian reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and Indian Wells while also making it to the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg. In doubles, she won the Ningbo Open alongside Nicole Melichar Martinez.
Aryna Sabalenka / Paula Badosa vs. Liudmila Samsonova / Shuai Zhang Match Details
Date: Jan. 4, 2025
Tournament: Brisbane International 2026
Round: First Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Australia
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, Sky Sports
Sabalenka / Badosa vs. Samsonova / Zhang Head-to-Head
Neither pair have locked horns against one another in doubles, so their head-to-head is 0-0.
Sabalenka / Badosa vs. Samsonova / Zhang Prediction
While Sabalenka are the better individual players, Samsonova gives her and Zhang an edge with her doubles experience. Sabalenka has been a World No. 1 in doubles but that was almost half a decade ago. The Belarusian and Badosa are known to be good friends and on paper, their chemistry is bound to be good.
Both players are aggressive, with Sabalenka’s hard hitting being a menace for any player in the world at present. Badosa is also a powerful hitter but she can also defend well. Her last doubles appearance also went well, as she and Ons Jabeur made it to semifinals in Berlin during the grass-court season.
Samsonova is among the best servers in the women’s game at present and it will be a crucial factor if she and Zhang are to win the match. The Chinese’s form on the WTA tour has been disappointing for some time and she will be eager to put on as good a show as she can.
It’s hard to pick a favorite but if Sabalenka and Badosa are at their best, they have a fair chance of coming out on top.
Pick:Â Sabalenka/Badosa to win via a tiebreaker.
