MELBOURNE, Australia — Elena Rybakina received the Australian Open on Saturday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, avenging her loss within the 2023 championship right here.
4 years in the past, she received the primary set however misplaced in three units within the remaining. This time, after breaking within the first sport and taking the primary set, she misplaced the second set, and even after falling behind 3-0 within the third set, she bounced again. She received 5 video games in a row and capped it off with an ace to earn her first championship level.
This was the second main title for fifth-seeded Rybakina. She received Wimbledon in 2022 and reached the Australian finals because the match’s solely main winner 4 years in the past.
Sabalenka went on to win three extra majors, together with back-to-back titles in Australia and the U.S. Open in 2024 and 2025, however Rybakina’s efficiency has been poor and she or he has not reached a serious remaining till this 12 months.
Her victory over Sabalenka within the season-ending WTA Finals final November modified the trajectory of her profession.
Rybakina was on the assault from the beginning, had six aces, and prevented six of the break level alternatives she confronted, aside from two breaks on the finish of the second set and the start of the third.
As Sabalenka’s moans and roars intensified because the match progressed, and her self-encouragement with impassioned “Let’s go” elevated periodically, Rybakina maintained a quiet, virtually calm composure.
Ultimately, she let herself serve and let her return do the speaking.
The 2 hugged one another close to the web. Rybakina tapped the string of her racket along with her left hand and raised her arm triumphantly into the gang.
