Aryna Sabalenka vs Polina Kudermetova Prediction WTA Brisbane Tennis Picks 1/5/25

Aryna Sabalenka notched a milestone win in her semifinal match at the 2025 Brisbane International and will contend to win her first title of the season on Sunday.

Sabalenka registered her 40th match win on Australian soil, in a run dating back to the start of the 2023 season in which she lifted the Adelaide title and two Australian Opens.

A fourth title Down Under is within reach after exacting revenge on Russian teen prodigy Mirra Andreeva in a rematch of their Roland Garros quarterfinal from last summer.

Sabalenka defeated the 17-year-old in their first hard-court meeting on Saturday, 6-3, 6-2, in an hour and 29 minutes.

In the victory, Sabalenka had 27 winners and 22 unforced errors. She hit three aces and one double fault.

Sabalenka landed 55% of first serves and won 74% of first-serve points (32/43) and 51% of second-serve points (18/35). 

The Belarusian saved all eight break points on her serve which proved crucial because she held all her service games.

Sabalenka won 43% of return points (21/49) and converted three out of five break points. She has not dropped a set this week and hasn't lost to player ranked outside the top 100 since August 2024.

Polina Kudermetova Preview

Polina Kudermetova came into this year's Brisbane tournament ranked 107th but is set to make her top 100 debut next Monday, peaking at No. 57 if she loses the final.

Kudermetova's run to her first WTA final has been nothing short of magical. She fought from qualifying and did not drop a set until the second round stage when she earned a big upset victory over countrywoman Liudmila Samsonova. 

To prove it wasn't a fluke, Kudermetova scored a more impressive win in the last 16 against Daria Kasatkina, her first top 10 win of her young career, rallying from 0-4 down in the third set.

In the last two rounds, she has won in straight sets, first against American big hitter Ashlyn Krueger and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Polina Kudermetova Head-To-Head

• Sabalenka and Kudermetova have never met at WTA level, so this will be their first meeting.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Polina Kudermetova Prediction

I'm struggling to think how Polina Kudermetova can actually win this match, beside this being unchartered waters for her and the fact that she's spent a considerable amount of court time in the past seven days. I know we've seen some strange results already in the first week of this brand new tennis season, but this one is unlikely to deviate from the script.

It's cause enough for celebration for Polina, who is the younger sister of the accomplished Veronika Kudermetova, reaching her first WTA final against all the odds right from the qualifying rounds and will make her top 100 debut next week. But she's up against the toughest challenge in women's tennis right now and that is to upstage Sabalenka on Australian soil. Only Elena Rybakina has been successful in that regard when she demolished the Belarusian in last year's Brisbane final. Sabalenka is even more determined to ensure she doesn't let this title slip from her grasp 12 months on. Give me the World No. 1 in two routine sets.