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The 2025 tennis season has commenced, and players like Aryna Sabalenka, Paula Badosa, Matteo Berettini, and others have reached Brisbane for the Brisbane International tournament. The players were surprised with a cute koala plushie gift after they reached the destination.
Brisbane International shared a bunch of photos of several players competing at the tournament posing with the adorable koala plushie on its Instagram account.
The pictures showcased players like Sabalenka, Berrettini, Badosa, Heather Watson, Rinky Hijikata, Samantha Stosur, Magda Linette, Daria Saville, and several other players ecstatic with their plushie gifts. The caption read:
"Our Mascott Bounce is back this year and he's doing the rounds🐨 "
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Aryna Sabalenka had a stellar 2024 season and also delivered dominant performances at the 2024 Brisbane International. She reached the finals of the tournament by besting players such as Lucia Bronzetti, Zhu Lin, Daria Kasatkina, and Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian athlete fell short of nabbing the title as she was defeated by Elena Rybakina in the finals with a score of 6-0, 6-3.
Sabalenka is gearing up to compete in the 2025 iteration of the tournament after winning the title of the World No. 1 at the end of the year, though not the WTA Finals.
Aryna Sabalenka opens up about competing in the 2025 season
In an interview with BBC Sport, Aryna Sabalenka opened up about competing in the Brisbane International.
"There are so many things to improve," Aryna Sabalenka said. "I'm not that good with maybe my game at the net in singles. There is a lot of things to improve in my touch game. Even my serve is not as good as I want it to be, so there is always to improve.
You work hard on lots of things in the pre-season. The first tournament before the major tournament is the one where you can try it out and see what's going to work well for you, and what's not. I have a lot of great memories from here and just can't wait to start playing."
Sabalenka has won seventeen singles titles and six doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
