Brisbane International draw, prize money and points on offer to Sabalenka, Anisimova, Rybakina, Keys
Seven players in the top 10 of the WTA Rankings will feature at the 2026 Brisbane International with world No 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka the headline act.
The Brisbane tournament will be staged at the Queensland Tennis Centre and it is one of three WTA events to kick off the new WTA Tour season, along with the mixed team United Cup in Perth and Sydney, and the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
After finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina in 2024, Sabalenka went the distance in 2025 as she beat eighth seed Mirra Andreeva in the semi-final before seeing off qualifier Polina Kudermetova in three sets in the final to lift the 18th title of her career.
The four-time Grand Slam winner is once again one of the favourites to win the tournament in 2026, but she will be up against some high-class opponents.
How many players will compete at the Brisbane International?
The event falls under the WTA 500 category and 48 players have entered the singles draw and four wildcards (Kimberly Birrell, Talia Gibson, Emerson Jones, Ajla Tomljanović) have already been confirmed.
One player has entered with a protected ranking (Karolina Pliskova) and six will gain entry through qualifying.
The rest entered via their positions in the WTA Rankings.
Who are the seeds?
The top 16 players on the entry list will be seeded and they are Aryna Sabalenka, Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Mirra Andreeva, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Clara Tauson, Linda Noskova, Liudmila Samsonova, Karolina Muchova, Diana Shnaider, Leylah Fernandez, Jeļena Ostapenko, Paula Badosa and Marta Kostyuk.
All seeds will receive a bye into the second round.
When is the draw for the Brisbane event?
The draw is scheduled to take place three days before the first-round matches get underway, so it has been pencilled in for January 1.
Points on offer for players at the WTA 500 event…
With the WTA using a rolling 52-week, cumulative system to determine the WTA Rankings, players will drop points from the previous year at the start of the tournament and then get a chance to earn it back with every match win.
Example: Sabalenka won the tournament in 2025 and earned 500 points so that tally will be subtracted from her total in the rankings at the start of the event and then she needs to earn points per round.
Full points breakdown:
First round: 0 points
Second round: 1 point
Third round: 32 points
Round of 16: 60 points
Quarter-finalists: 108 points
Semi-finalists: 195 points
Runner-up: 325 points
Champion: 500 points
Prize money at the 2026 Brisbane International
Sabalenka earned $192,475 for her title run in 2025 while runner-up Kudermetova received $120,735, but the 2026 finalists will earn more with the total financial commitment increasing to $1,206,446.
Full prize money breakdown:
First round: $11,920
Second round: $13,735
Round of 16: $19,909
Quarter-finalists: $37,640
Semi-finalists: $77,115
Runner-up: $134,600
Champion: ~$214,530~
