MELBOURNE, Australia – Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open title on Saturday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, avenging her loss in the 2023 championship decider here.
Four years ago she won the first set, but lost the final in three sets. This time, after breaking the first game and winning the first set, she rallied after losing the second set and trailing 3-0 in the third. She won five games in a row and then closed with an ace on her first championship point.
It was a second major title for fifth-seeded Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and was the only major winner to participate in the Australian final four years ago.
While Sabalenka won a further three majors, including back-to-back victories in Australia and the 2024 and ’25 US Open victories, Rybakina’s results declined and she only reached another major final this tournament.
A win over Sabalenka at the season-ending WTA Finals last November changed her career trajectory.
Rybakina went on the attack from the start and her serve was strong, with six aces and – apart from the two breaks at the end of the second set and the start of the third – she fended off six of the break point opportunities she faced.
While Sabalenka’s grunts and roars intensified and her exuberant “let’s go” self-encouragement became more regular as the match progressed, Rybakina maintained a calm, almost serene composure.
Finally she let her serve and her return did the talking.
The pair hugged at the net. Rybakina hit the strings of her racket with her left hand and raised her arm triumphantly to the crowd.
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