Elena Rybakina defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka in their Australian Open final rematch with a dominant straight sets win to claim the Brisbane International.

The world number four from Kazakhstan charged out of the blocks, dominating the first set 6-0 and continuing the form through the second set 6-3, winning in just over 70 minutes.

Rybakina was clinical on break points, winning five of a possible seven, and limiting the Belarusian to just one break point.

Sabalenka was on a 15-game winning streak in Australia before the loss, spanning back to the start of 2023 in Adelaide and continuing through her Australian Open-winning campaign.

The win was 24-year-old Rybakina’s sixth career title.

Coco Gauff defended her Auckland title as she beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina to win the ASB Classic in three sets.

The 19-year-old American won 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-3 in just over two and a half hours to make it 10 straight wins at the event.

Gauff was put through a difficult, topsy-turvy first set, losing in a tiebreak.

But the teenager turned it around in the second and third sets as she improved her first serve success from 46 per cent to 73 per cent in the second and above 80 per cent in the third.

The win was the 2023 US Open winner’s seventh WTA title.

Elena Rybakina defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka in their Australian Open final rematch with a dominant straight sets win to claim the Brisbane International.

The world number four from Kazakhstan charged out of the blocks, dominating the first set 6-0 and continuing the form through the second set 6-3, winning in just over 70 minutes.

Rybakina was clinical on break points, winning five of a possible seven, and limiting the Belarusian to just one break point.

Sabalenka was on a 15-game winning streak in Australia before the loss, spanning back to the start of 2023 in Adelaide and continuing through her Australian Open-winning campaign.

The win was 24-year-old Rybakina’s sixth career title.

Rafael Nadal is keeping his fingers crossed he will be able to play in the Australian Open after needing medical treatment during a gruelling loss to Jordan Thompson at his comeback tournament.

Nadal looked poised to claim another straight-sets win at the Brisbane International when he brought up a first match point in the 10th game of the second set but missed a backhand overhead.

Two more chances followed in the tie-break but Nadal was unable to take either and Australian Thompson fought back to claim a 5-7 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory after three hours and 25 minutes.

More concerning was the off-court medical time-out Nadal took at 1-4 in the deciding set, although he was able to continue without too much apparent discomfort.

The 37-year-old had surgery on the psoas tendon in his left hip in June after being sidelined since suffering an injury at last January’s Australian Open and revealed the latest problem is in the same area.

“I feel the muscle tired,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“I mean, for sure it’s not the same like last year at all because when it happened I felt something drastic immediately. Today I didn’t feel anything. The only problem is because the place is the same, you are a little bit more scared than usual.

“I need to see how I wake up tomorrow morning. We have been talking these last days, talking about the positive things. That’s why I am not over-positive when I have been talking.

“I have been talking with a lot of precaution because I know after a year is difficult for the body to be playing tournaments at the highest level. When the things are becoming more difficult, you don’t know how your body is going to react.

“I hope it is not important and I hope to have the chance to be practising next week and to play Melbourne. Honestly, I am not 100 per cent sure of anything now.”

Thompson will take on second seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals, while top seed Holger Rune faces Russian Roman Safiullin.

In the women’s event, top seed Aryna Sabalenka continued to look sharp in a 6-1 6-4 victory over Daria Kasatkina, her 14th straight win in Australia, while second seed Elena Rybakina was a set up on Anastasia Potapova when the Russian retired.

Sabalenka will take on fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the last four after she battled past Jelena Ostapenko, while Czech Linda Noskova won the battle of the teenagers against 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

At the ASB Classic in Auckland, defending champion Coco Gauff and second seed Elina Svitolina both eased into the semi-finals, while Alexander Zverev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to help Germany defeat Greece in the United Cup quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Harriet Dart reached the biggest final of her career at the WTA 125 event in Canberra, battling to a 7-5 3-6 7-5 victory over American Katie Volynets, and Heather Watson is through to the doubles final in Brisbane with Belgian Greet Minnen.

Rafael Nadal missed three match points and needed medical treatment as his comeback tournament ended in a quarter-final defeat by Jordan Thompson.

Nadal looked poised to claim another straight-sets win at the Brisbane International when he brought up a first match point in the 10th game of the second set but missed a backhand overhead.

Two more chances followed in the tie-break but Nadal was unable to take either and Australian Thompson fought back to claim a 5-7 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory after three hours and 25 minutes.

More concerning was the off-court medical time-out Nadal took at 1-4 in the deciding set for treatment to his upper left leg, although he was able to continue without too much apparent discomfort.

The 37-year-old had surgery on the psoas tendon in his left hip in June after being sidelined since suffering an injury at last January’s Australian Open.

Thompson will take on second seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals, while top seed Holger Rune faces Russian Roman Safiullin.

In the women’s event, top seed Aryna Sabalenka continued to look sharp in a 6-1 6-4 victory over Daria Kasatkina, her 14th-straight win in Australia, while second seed Elena Rybakina was a set up on Anastasia Potapova when the Russian retired.

Sabalenka will take on fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the last four after she battled past Jelena Ostapenko, while Czech Linda Noskova won the battle of the teenagers against 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

At the ASB Classic in Auckland, defending champion Coco Gauff and second seed Elina Svitolina both eased into the semi-finals, while Alexander Zverev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to help Germany defeat Greece in the United Cup quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Harriet Dart reached the biggest final of her career at the WTA 125 event in Canberra, battling to a 7-5 3-6 7-5 victory over American Katie Volynets, and Heather Watson is through to the doubles final in Brisbane with Belgian Greet Minnen.

Serena Williams withdrew from the Australian Open on January 5, 2018 and announced she would not defend the title she won while pregnant.

The American had kept secret the fact she was expecting her first child as she swept to a 23rd grand slam title in 2017, defeating sister Venus 6-4 6-4 in the final.

Williams gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September of the same year and ultimately decided to delay her return to the big stage.

Williams had played an exhibition match on December 30 in Abu Dhabi against Jelena Ostapenko, testing out her fitness in a 6-2 3-6 10-5 defeat, and that prompted her decision to sit out the new year’s first grand slam.

She said: “After competing in Abu Dhabi I realised that, although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be.

“My coach and team always said only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.

“I can compete, but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and, to do so, I will need a little more time.”

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said: “The true champion Serena is has been demonstrated in the Herculean efforts she has made over the past few months in her desire to play the Australian Open.

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“Serena transcends the sport in the way she approaches all aspects of her life and consistently gives her all in everything she does.

“It was never going to be good enough for her to just compete, she wants to give herself the best chance to win.

“I’ve been in constant contact with Serena and her team and know this is why she has pushed it and pushed it until the eleventh hour to make her final decision.

“We all wish her the very best and I look forward to seeing her back on court this year, and can’t wait to welcome her back to the Australian Open in 2019.”

Williams went on to reach four more grand slam finals but did not win another title before retiring in 2022.

Rafael Nadal continued his impressive return from injury with a dominant win over Jason Kubler at the Brisbane International.

The 22-time grand slam champion played his first match for nearly a year following a hip injury in the opening round against Dominic Thiem and built on that performance by seeing off Australian Kubler 6-1 6-2.

Nadal, who shrugged off a time violation in the second set for taking too long to change his clothes, told reporters in Brisbane: “It has been a positive match, without a doubt.

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“I think the first five games of the match have been at a very positive level of tennis, doing almost everything the right way. Most of the time I have been playing well, doing the things that I need to do. I’m happy for the victory. Of course, it’s important for me.”

The Spaniard will next face another Australian in Jordan Thompson.

Second seed Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Andy Murray in round one, also eased into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-2 win over Daniel Altmaier.

In the women’s event, top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina were both in fine form, losing just a game apiece.

Sabalenka, who defeated Rybakina to win her maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open 12 months ago, saw off Zhu Lin 6-1 6-0 while Rybakina beat 13th seed Elise Mertens by the same scoreline.

Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, is also through to the last eight after an almost-as-convincing 6-1 6-1 victory over Arina Rodionova and will next face another teenager in Czech Linda Noskova.

Elina Svitolina fought back from a set down to beat Emma Raducanu 6-7 (5) 7-6 (3) 6-1 on her return from injury in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The former British world number one defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round – following operations on both her wrists and ankle – and took a first-set lead over the second seed before Svitolina fought back to take victory and advance into the third round.

She will face Marie Bouzkova in the quarter-finals of the tournament as she continues preparations for the upcoming Australian Open.

Raducanu looked like she would ease into a one-set lead when she went 5-1 ahead, but a determined Svitolina fought back to force an unlikely tie-break where Raducanu would eventually get the job done.

The Ukrainian broke Raducanu early in the second set as she looked the level matters but the 2021 US Open champion broke back and her service game was immaculate as the game entered a tie-break for a second time.

The Brit broke Svitolina twice early in the tie-break to gain the upper hand but the world number 25 refused to be beaten as she fought back with six straight points to eventually take the game into a deciding set.

The final set proved too much for the 21-year-old as she was broken early in the third and Svitolina took control of proceedings by winning the next three games before heading into a 5-0 lead.

Raducanu dodged the bagel with a hold of serve in the sixth but Svitolina soon after wrapped up a comfortable win.

After the game, Svitolina said on court: “It was a great match from both of us. Emma played a great match and it was really difficult, physically.

“I hope I will recover for tomorrow, be ready and you guys can give me some support.

“Two great matches and now against Emma, they played really well. I am happy with the way I handled pressure moments and just a really great way to start the year.”

Novak Djokovic is confident he can recover from a wrist injury in time for his Australian Open title defence.

The world number one struggled with a problem with his right wrist and was not at his best in a straight-sets defeat to Alex de Minuar in the United Cup in Perth.

Djokovic, bidding for a record-extending 11th men’s Australian Open singles title, lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 12 De Minaur as Australia beat Serbia 2-0 in their quarter-final in the mixed team event.

“Congrats to De Minaur, he was very solid from the beginning, just played a great match and deserved to win,” Djokovic said in a post-match interview.

“I was not at my level, but it was just one of these days where you didn’t feel your best on the court and your opponent played very well, that’s all I can say.

“I have enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open and that’s what matters the most at this point.

“I think I’ll be OK, to be honest, but it did have quite an impact, particularly on the forehand and serve.

“But, again, I don’t want to be too much time talking about it and taking away credit for the victory from De Minaur, he was just very solid as he always is.

“Congrats to him and to the Australian team. It is what it is for us I guess and I move on with my thoughts in Melbourne.”

Djokovic will find out his first-round opponent at Melbourne Park when the singles draw for the first grand slam of the year takes place on Sunday.

The 36-year-old needed a medical time-out for his wrist problem in his previous United Cup match against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, which he won in three sets on Tuesday.

Against De Minaur he twice needed treatment, first after holding serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set and again after he had been broken to trail 5-4.

“I knew I was probably not going to be at 100 per cent physically, emotionally, mentally game-wise in the opening week of the season,” Djokovic added.

“Neither did I expect that or want that to be honest. It’s all a part of the build-up for the Australian Open.”

Despite Djokovic’s fitness concerns, De Minaur produced an impressive performance to seal one of the biggest wins of his career in just over an hour-and-a-half.

Ajla Tomljanovic followed De Minaur’s win by beating Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic 6-1 6-1 to clinch Australia’s semi-final place.

Novak Djokovic’s preparations for his Australian Open title defence were dealt a blow in an injury-affected defeat to Alex de Minaur in the United Cup in Perth.

Djokovic lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 12 De Minaur as Australia took a 1-0 lead in their quarter-final against Serbia in the mixed team event before sealing a 2-0 victory.

Djokovic was below his best and struggled with an on-going problem with his right wrist, twice requiring treatment from the physio.

The world number one needed a medical time-out for the issue in his previous United Cup match against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, which he won in three sets on Tuesday.

The Serbian was treated after holding serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set and again after De Minaur had broken to edge 5-4 up.

Despite Djokovic’s fitness concerns, De Minaur produced an impressive performance to seal one of the biggest wins of his career in just over an hour-and-a-half.

De Minaur said in his on-court interview after the match: “It’s extra special. Novak is an unbelievable competitor and what he’s done for the sport is pretty special.

“When you go up against Novak you have to go out and enjoy it and back yourself and no matter what keep fighting until the end. Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win.”

Ajla Tomljanovic followed De Minaur’s win by beating Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic 6-1 6-1 to clinch Australia’s semi-final place.

Emma Raducanu has earned direct entry into the main draw at the Australian Open following a number of late withdrawals.

The 2021 US Open champion made a winning return to the court at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Tuesday after being sidelined since April following operations on both her wrists and one ankle.

It appeared that Raducanu was going to be required to go through qualifying for the Australian Open due to her protected ranking – given to players who have been sidelined long term – not being high enough.

However, the Australian Open announced in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday that the 21-year-old would take the place of American Lauren Davis in the main draw after the American withdrew due to a shoulder injury.

Davis joins French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally on the withdrawal list.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has also withdrawn from the tournament after announcing she is pregnant with her first child.

Naomi Osaka’s first tournament appearance in more than two years has ended with a second-round defeat to 16th seed Karolina Pliskova at the Brisbane International.

Following an opening-round win over Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch on Monday, Osaka looked to keep her momentum going against the Czech world number 39 but was ultimately outlasted 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4.

In a battle of two former world number ones, Osaka exploded out of the gates to claim the first set before Pliskova began to find her footing in the second.

After surviving an early break point, Pliskova capitalised on her serve to take control of the match, going on to win 92 percent of her first service points in the set.

Osaka continued to threaten throughout the final set, but was unable to make the most of her remaining opportunities in the narrow loss.

Osaka returned to the court on Monday for the first time since withdrawing from the Pan Pacific Trophy with a knee injury in September 2021. She became a mother for the first time in July.

Elsewhere, Australia’s Daria Saville came agonisingly close to upsetting 11th seed Anastasia Potapova in a 6-4 3-6 6-4 defeat.

The world number 176 dropped the first set but battled back to convincingly claim the second in front of a raucous home crowd.

However Potapova showed plenty of her own fight in the decider, eventually wrapping up the result in two hours and 52 minutes.

Meanwhile, sixth seed Veronika Kudermetova cruised to a 6-2 6-3 win over world number 73 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Rafael Nadal returned from his year-long injury absence with a bang by winning an engrossing first-round battle with Dominic Thiem at the Brisbane International.

The 22-time grand slam champion had not played since damaging his hip during a second-round match at the 2023 Australian Open.

But, with this year’s Melbourne major on the horizon, he gave a timely reminder of his talents with a box-office performance en route to an impressive 7-5 6-1 success in an hour and 29 minutes.

“Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me after probably one of the toughest years of my tennis career without a doubt,” Nadal said on court following the victory.

“To have the chance to come back after a year and play in front of an amazing crowd and play at a very positive level is something that probably makes us feel proud – myself, all the team, family that have been there every single day during the last year.

“I missed being healthy, I missed feeling myself competitive and playing in front of full crowds like this.

“Things went well and I’m excited to be back again tomorrow.”

Ahead of his long-awaited comeback, Nadal said it was “impossible” for him to contemplate winning tournaments.

There was little between the pair in the opening set before the Spaniard sealed a decisive break of serve by capitalising on his fourth set point.

Austrian Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, had barely put a foot wrong at that stage but was quickly facing an early exit.

Nadal backed up seizing the initiative by asserting his authority on the contest with another break of serve early in the second set.

The 37-year-old, who underwent hip surgery last summer, then won four of the next five games to secure a statement victory at the end of his lengthy spell on the sidelines.

He will face either Russian eighth seed Aslan Karatsev or Australian wildcard Jason Kubler in round two.

“The support is super important, especially in the low moments,” added Nadal.

“I had the chance to receive thousands of messages during all of this year and having great people next to me every single day makes the difference without a doubt.

“I don’t have a real test about how the level was, I have been too long outside. The first set was very equal, both us serving very well.

“Then I was able to have that break at 6-5, so that makes the difference.

“I know Dominic has been going through some hard times with injuries too so I’m happy to see him on court and I wish him all the very best for the season.”

Emma Raducanu celebrated her long-awaited return from injury with a gutsy three-set win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The former British number one, who was playing her first match since April following operations on both her wrists and one ankle, held off a fightback from the Romanian qualifier to progress 6-3 4-6 7-5.

Her preparations for the upcoming Australian Open will continue with a tough last-16 tie against second seed Elina Svitolina.

Tournament wild card Raducanu, who had dropped to 301st in the world rankings, resumed her stalled career claiming to feel “reborn” and freed from the weight of her headline-grabbing US Open triumph in 2021.

Having managed only nine matches in 2023, she initially showed few signs of rustiness as she wrapped up the opening set in 37 minutes after capitalising on her third break point in game eight.

Yet any hopes of straightforward progression were quickly dashed as Ruse responded.

The world number 134 doggedly saved three break points in an 11-minute opening game of the second set before winning two of Raducanu’s next three service games to shift the momentum.

At 5-2 down, Raducanu demonstrated resilience to return the match to serve but then failed to hold as it went to a decider.

The 21-year-old showed flashes of her best throughout the contest, including a delightful backhand slice winner, and would not be denied, despite the best efforts of the determined Ruse.

She blew a 5-2 lead in the final set and failed to capitalise on two match points on her opponent’s serve before digging in to ensure eight months on the sidelines culminated in an encouraging comeback victory.

Andy Murray’s preparations for the Australian Open suffered a setback following a frustrating first-round loss to second seed Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International.

The unseeded Scot was on course to advance after taking the opening set of a tense battle between two former tournament champions on Pat Rafter Arena.

But Dimitrov hit back to progress 4-6 7-5 6-2 and inflict another early exit on Murray following his second-round victory when the pair met at last year’s US Open.

The world number 14 will face either Australian qualifier Li Tu or Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in round two.

Murray was playing his first competitive singles match since a first-round loss to Alex de Minaur at the Paris Masters in late October after a shoulder injury ruled him out of representing Great Britain in the Davis Cup finals.

The 36-year-old initially impressed during a tight encounter which remained on serve until he capitalised on an error-strewn 10th game from his opponent to clinch the opening set.

But Dimitrov calmly responded to force a decider by edging a more chaotic second set which ended with both players struggling to hold serve.

The Bulgarian’s efforts to level were aided by saving a crucial break point with a stunning baseline smash while playing with a broken string.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray was visibly annoyed by the momentum shift and offered little resistance in a relatively one-sided final set as Dimitrov won in just under two-and-a-half hours.