Victoria Mboko continued her string of three-set battles at the start of 2026, producing back-to-back wins in Adelaide to advance toward the semifinals. “Maybe I can try to find some straight-set wins soon.” The 19-year-old has now played five matches this year and all five have gone the distance. She is 4-1 in deciders to begin the season.

Mboko split her opening two matches at the United Cup before arriving at the WTA 500 in Adelaide. On Wednesday she saved a pair of match points to beat Anna Kalinskaya and keep her run alive. The following day she produced her biggest result of the stretch by defeating the defending champion, No. 2 seed Madison Keys, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

In the final set Mboko did not face a break point and won half of her return points to pull away from the reigning Australian Open champion. “She hits a pretty strong ball, and all I was thinking in that moment was just to try to stay low and try to redirect as much as I could, and try to either make her miss first or have a good opportunity to take control,” Mboko assessed during a press conference Thursday.

The world No. 17 is seeking a third career trophy. She captured her maiden WTA title on home soil last August at the 1000-level event in Montreal and finished 2025 with a title in Hong Kong. Local hopeful Kimberly Birrell, the player Mboko defeated at the start of that seven-match run, awaits in the semifinals.

As the eighth seed, Mboko can move into the Top 15 by winning the title this week. “I’m expecting a big fight tomorrow. She also has the crowd advantage, so that’s good for her,” she said. “But I’m going to just go in the match like I do every other match, and just stay right in there, try to play my game, and just have fun on court.”

Mboko reflected on the rapid change in her career over the last year. “I kind of had to adjust and adapt very quickly from playing ITFs to suddenly playing on the WTA tour full. Often playing top players, you have to get used to all of that,” she reflected. “So I’m glad I can kind of get a deep run in this tournament, and try to set the tone for the start of this year.” At this time a year ago she was ranked No. 337.

Episode 2 of The Big T podcast combined listener questions, new segments and candid conversation. Danielle Collins made an in-studio debut alongside Coco Vandeweghe, and the panel tackled topics ranging from player pet peeves to the Australian Open’s one-point event.

On the court, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka reminded everyone why she sits atop the rankings. The 27-year-old, four-time Grand Slam champion romped through the Brisbane draw, with no opponent pushing her past 6-4 in any set. The opening week also highlighted a scheduling quirk: all of the WTA’s Top 24 competed while four of the ATP’s Top 8 skipped the first week. Brad Gilbert, with Vandeweghe and Collins, offered a reason: “Most of the top women are much more active to start the year because you guys have 500 [level] tournaments.”

January’s calendar places Brisbane and Adelaide as WTA 500 events while the simultaneous ATP tournaments are at the 250 level. Later in the swing, Doha and Dubai are 1000 level for the women and 500 for the men, which gives the WTA more time in the spotlight early in the season.

Poland won the United Cup, but world No. 2 Iga Swiatek struggled, losing to Coco Gauff in straight sets and then to Belinda Bencic in three, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Vandeweghe noted the toll January competition can take: “Coming into January, you’re supposed to be refreshed… And you’re already mentally frazzled.”

The episode also discussed the Australian Open’s 1 Point Slam, where recreational players could win large sums for scoring a single point against a pro. “I think if you have a big serve,” advised Gilbert, “go for big serve on first and second.” Vandeweghe observed that the format could tighten pros, and several stars failed to land their lone serve in the box.

A new segment, High-Percentage Tennis, produced spirited debate, including questions about coaching and speculation about future matches. “Will Juan Carlos coach a woman? No chance, there’s zero chance,” said Vandeweghe. Collins replied, “I’m gonna call him right now, let’s see if he wants to work with Danielle Collins. You think he can handle me?”

New episodes drop every Wednesday.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka captured the first title of her 2026 season with a straight-sets victory over Marta Kostyuk, 6-4, 6-3, to win the WTA 500 event in Brisbane. Sabalenka, who also won the tournament last year, did not lose a set all week and did not concede more than four games in any set en route to the trophy.

Kostyuk reached the final after an impressive run in which she took out three Top 10 players in a row—No. 3 Amanda Anisimova, No. 9 Mirra Andreeva and No. 6 Jessica Pegula—in straight sets. In the championship match the two traded early breaks, but Sabalenka broke again to close the first set, secured an early break in the second and held serve from there to finish the match.

The triumph in Brisbane is the 22nd WTA title of Sabalenka’s career and marks the fifth tournament she’s won multiple times, alongside the Australian Open and US Open (twice each) and Madrid and Wuhan (three times each). It also extended her recent supremacy in Australia: she has now won five of the last seven events she has played there and 38 of her last 40 matches in the country.

SABALENKA IN AUSTRALIA SINCE START OF 2023: 38-2. The only two defeats in that stretch were to Elena Rybakina in the 2024 Brisbane final and to Madison Keys in the 2025 Australian Open final.

After a planned week off from tournaments, Sabalenka will head to the Australian Open as the favorite for the title. The Brisbane victory reinforces her form and provides momentum as she prepares for the Grand Slam start to the season.