Elena Rybakina produced a thunderous display to beat firm favourite Aryna Sabalenka and win a maiden Australian Open title yesterday, turning the tables on the world No 1 in their Melbourne Park final rematch from three years ago.
Rybakina returned to the site of her 2023 defeat to complete an impressive 6‑4 4‑6 6-4 win and capture her second major trophy after Wimbledon 2022, underlining her credentials as the player best equipped to puncture Sabalenka’s hardcourt aura.
The 26-year-old capped a fortnight of relentless efficiency while largely flying under the radar, adding the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup to a sparkling resume which includes the WTA Finals crown the Kazakh won by stunning Sabalenka last year.
I hope we’re going to play many more finals together
— Aryna Sabalenka
“It’s hard to find words, but I want to congratulate Aryna for her amazing results in the last couple of years ... I hope we’re going to play many more finals together,” Moscow-born Rybakina said, before addressing her fans.
In the first Grand Slam final since 2008 featuring players yet to drop a set, it was top seed Sabalenka who blinked first under the Rod Laver Arena roof as Rybakina came out all guns blazing to break in the opening game and take control.
The fifth seed’s booming ball-striking caused all sorts of problems for twice champion Sabalenka, and Rybakina comfortably got to set point in the 10th game and finished it in style to send alarm bells ringing in her opponent’s dugout.
Sabalenka levels in second set
Arriving with 46 hardcourt Grand Slam match victories from the last 48, four-times major winner Sabalenka found her groove and began the second set more positively. A wayward forehand from Rybakina handed Sabalenka the chance to level at one set apiece, and the Belarusian gleefully took it to turn the final set into a shootout destined to be decided by whichever player held their nerve.
Having beaten Rybakina from a similar situation in the 2023 title clash, Sabalenka unleashed a flurry of winners to go ahead 3-0, but the Kazakh erased the deficit and broke for 4-3 before securing victory to add to her All England club triumph. The knockout blow was a thumping ace.
Following two years of triumph in Melbourne, Sabalenka is now processing two years of pain, after losing last year’s final in three sets to American Madison Keys. While the Keys shock left Sabalenka inconsolable and her racket in pieces, defeat to fifth seed Rybakina had its own unique sting.
“She made some winners. I made a couple of unforced errors,” Sabalenka told reporters.
“Of course, I have regrets. You know, when you lead 3-0 and then it felt like in a few seconds it was 3-4 and I was down with a break. So it was very fast. Great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart for me, but as I say, today I’m a loser, maybe tomorrow I’m a winner, maybe again a loser. Hopefully not. We’ll see.”
On court, Sabalenka draped a white towel over her head to conceal her anguish before gathering herself to deliver gracious congratulations to Rybakina, her most frequent opponent on tour. She consoled herself that barring a few errors in the final set, Rybakina had simply wrested the trophy from her grip with the quality of her tennis.
“Even in this final I feel like I played great. I was fighting. I did my best, and today she was a better player,” said Sabalenka, suffering her third loss in her last four major finals, having been floored by Coco Gauff at last year’s French Open.
Rybakina, one of the few players able to match her for power, has dealt Sabalenka’s aura a heavy blow.
Reuters
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