heaped praise on her opponent Mirra Andreeva after a straight sets victory booked a spot in her second successive Brisbane International final on Saturday. Sabalenka's admiration of the 17-year-old's frightening quality was evident when she jokingly refused to offer advice, insisting she didn't need it.

Andreeva is ranked a career-high world No. 16 at the start of her third year as a permanent fixture on the WTA Tour and was the eighth seed in Brisbane.

But she came up against the world No. 1 in the semi-finals and lost 6-3 6-2 in 90 minutes, although it was a much harder-fought match than the scoreline suggests.

Andreeva earned eight break points throughout the battle but failed to convert a single one as her opponent's experience and aggression shone through.

The Russian teenager has previously beaten Sabalenka at the 2024 French Open but now trails in their head-to-head 2-1.

And Sabalenka remained coy when asked whether she would offer Andreeva any advice to help guide her through the early stages of her promising career.

"I'll give my advice to her when I retire. So far, I'll just let her do her thing," the three-time Grand Slam winner smiled.

"She's doing the right thing. She has a great team around her, family around her [and] an amazing coach - I couldn't recommend anyone better than [coach Conchita Martinez].

"She's on the right path and definitely the future of tennis. She's moving well, serving great and hitting decent shots, so she's going to be there [the top 10] very soon."

Sabalenka added: "I'm really glad that against Mirra I was able to play such aggressive tennis. She's an amazing player, a young player.

"She's going to be [ranked] top-10 for so long and very soon, so I'm just happy to get this win."

The 26-year-old, who has won the last two women's Australian Open titles and is the favourite to start 2025 with a third, is on the brink of the perfect preparation.

In Sunday's Brisbane International final, Sabalenka will meet qualifier Polina Kudermetova, who has enjoyed a magical run in the River City.

Kudermetova beat Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-3 in the semi-finals, and the final will be her eighth match of the tournament compared to Sabalenka's fifth.

The 21-year-old Russian is the heavy underdog in the final, but she will fancy her chances against anyone during her current patch of form on the court.