Aryna Sabalenka Stuns Boyfriend as She Calls Him Out in Front of Packed Arena

World Number One Aryna Sabalenka called out her boyfriend in front of a packed arena following her Brisbane International triumph over the weekend.

Sabalenka successfully defended her Brisbane International crown as she defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3.

The Belarusian kicked off the 2026 season with the impressive victory as she took one step closer to matching Karolina Pliskova’s record of three Brisbane International wins.

Sabalenka didn’t drop a set all week as she geared up for the Australian Open later this month with another piece of silverware.

Sabalenka aims not-so-subtle dig at boyfriend

And during her victory speech, Sabalenka took the chance to thank her team, stating: “Thank you to my team for handling me. I'm really the toughest one to handle, and you guys are the toughest people in the world if you can handle me.”

The 27-year-old also took the opportunity to aim a dig at her boyfriend, adding: “Thank you to my boyfriend. Hopefully, soon I’ll call you something else, right? Let’s just put a bit of extra pressure on, right?”

Aryna Sabalenka after winning back to back Brisbane titles:

“Thank you to my boyfriend… hopefully soon I can call you something else” 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/VCLdkJXLBg

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 11, 2026

The final between Sabalenka and Kostyuk saw the pair resume rivalries after previous comments made by the latter that the former possesses higher testosterone levels than other female players.

“With Iga [Swiatek], when I have played her, I wasn’t ready to play her at all. I played her over a year ago. With Aryna [Sabalenka], I don’t know, to be honest,” Kostyuk said in an interview with Tennis365 last October.

“When I look at these players, I have my own skills, but at the end of the day, they are all much bigger than me, much taller than me, much stronger than me.

“We all have different biological structure. Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. I know players who are good players who have higher levels of it.

“It’s just natural, they don’t take anything. I’m sure of that. It’s just the biology of their body. Obviously, that definitely helps.

“I’m trying to see how I can beat these players with the tennis skills I have, but I have to work more than they have to win the points. I need to run a lot more. I am much more of an athletic player. I cannot just hit the ball hard, sweeping players out of the court with my power.

“I cannot make myself suddenly 10kgs bigger or five centimetres taller, so I have to find ways to use everything I have at 100 per cent. For other players, they have more of an advantage in other things.

“This is just the way I am. My body, I’m really small. I look at the pictures when we are on the court and I look so much smaller than everyone. I cannot be bigger. It’s just part of the sport. I think it’s a very cool challenge, if I think about it.

“I really have to sit down and think, okay, what can I do to get make better against these players. I’m sure there are many, many things I can do better.”

And having retained her title, Sabalenka took the chance to look down the court at her opponent and kissing both biceps in a likely nod towards the Ukrainian’s previous comments.

Tensions between Sabalenka and Kostyuk

Kostyuk insists her words were taken out of context, but there was already tension between the pair after she refused to shake Sabalenka’s hand following a match at the French Open in 2023.

Sabalenka’s home country of Belarus continues to support Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and Kostyuk used her post-match speech to speak passionately about her homeland.

“I want to say a few words about Ukraine,” Kostyuk said. “I play every day with a pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now, it's minus 20 degrees outside right now, so it's very, very painful to live this reality every day.

“I was incredibly moved and happy to see so many Ukrainian fans and flags here this week – Slava Ukraini.”

Both Sabalenka and Kostyuk are expected to compete at the Australian Open this month as the former goes in search of her third Grand Slam down under in the last four years.