In the 2009 Australian Open, she made the third round losing to Jelena Janković 4–6, 4–6. As the 9th seed in doubles playing with Hantuchová, they beat the No. 1 seeds, Black and Huber, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6. In the third set "Hantuyama" were down 2–5, but rallied to take it to a tie-break, where they saved seven match points to win 12–10. In the semifinals, they beat Dechy and Santangelo 6–4, 6–2 to make it her first women's doubles final there. They were defeated by the Williams in two sets, 6–3, 6–3. A respiratory infection forced her to withdraw from the 2009 Open GDF Suez. Sugiyama entered the Dubai Tennis Championships and lost in the opening round to Bartoli in a tight three-set match 0–6, 6–4, 6–7. Sugiyama and Hantuchová also played doubles but withdrew because of the infection.