Top-ranked Sabalenka calls season schedule 'insane,' plans to skip tournaments to avoid burnout

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka describes the tennis schedule as “insane” and said she'll risk fines in order to skip tournaments to avoid injuries or burnout.

For all those concerns, though, the world's top-ranked woman is happy to have as much competition as possible before the season-opening Grand Slam in Australia.

Sabalenka beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to move into the Brisbane International quarterfinals, where she'll take on fifth-seeded Madison Keys almost a year after losing to her in the Australian Open final.

Keys, her left leg heavily taped, came back from a set and a break down to beat 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) on Thursday.

“Always good to start the year with a little bit of drama,” Keys said in a post-match interview after three hours on court. “Glad we got that out of the way.”

Keys had only two matches after her first-round exit at the U.S. Open, so she’s looking for plenty of time on court before her title defense at the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 18. Her career breakthrough at a major came at the expense of Sabalenka's bid for an Australian Open three-peat.

Keys got more time on court in Brisbane than she bargained for in three tiebreakers, a medical timeout to have her upper left leg taped after the second tiebreaker, and a third set lasting 69 minutes.

The American missed two match points in the 10th game of the third set but made sure of it in the deciding tiebreaker. It continued her winning streak in Australia that includes titles in Adelaide and at Melbourne Park in 2025.

“It’s always a little bit nerve-wracking getting back,” Keys said. “It’s (only) been like four weeks since we last played but it’s just always kind of getting your feet wet again and trying to find some good level. Being able to win matches in Week 1 is always really important.”

Sabalenka started 2025 with a victory in Brisbane and ended it with a runner-up finish at the WTA Finals in November. She played 16 tournaments for a 63-12 record and capped the year in the Battle of the Sexes against Nick Kyrgios.

Long season

After beating Cirstea, Sabalenka was asked whether as the No. 1 player she might try to manage her schedule like Serena Williams did at times.

“Well, the season is definitely insane, and that’s not good for all of us, as you see so many players getting injured,” Sabalenka said.

“What Serena did, the rules were different. Right now, like last season, by the end of the season, because I didn’t play enough of 500 (level) events, they fine us with points.”

Sabalenka said the “rules are quite tricky” with mandatory events but she still planned to skip some events “in order to protect my body."

“Even though the results were really consistent, but some of the tournaments I had been playing completely sick or I’ve been really exhausted from overplaying. So this season we will try to manage it a little bit better.”

Major preparations

Despite criticizing the season length, Sabalenka said the strong draw in Brisbane makes it the ideal warmup for the Australian Open.

“By having (so) many top players you have in the draw, it definitely helps to prepare better for the Australian Open,” Sabalenka said. "It’s important to have quality matches just so you’re preparing yourself mentally for fights, for battles.

“I like to challenge myself. I like to have great battles, especially heading to the Grand Slam.”

She considers the quarterfinal against Keys more of a chance to improve her game than a chance for revenge for last year’s Australian Open final.

“It’s going to be, as always, a great battle, really aggressive tennis,” she said. “I’m excited to face her.”

The winner will advance to a semifinal against third-seeded Elena Rybakina, who beat No. 15 Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-2, or No. 11 Karolina Muchova, who beat seventh-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 7-5.

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