A determined Aryna Sabalenka is confident she will not be repeating the mistakes of the past when she takes to the court for the Australian Open final on Saturday.
Sabalenka, who is the first woman since Martina Hingis to reach a fourth consecutive title match at Melbourne Park, breezed past Elina Svitolina in their semi-final clash. The world No.1 is yet to drop a set in the tournament and has hit 162 winners, which is more than any other player in the women’s draw. Svitolina was the third seeded player she has beaten after Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko, who are both rising stars on the Tour.
Reaching tournament finals is nothing new for Sabalenka, who started 2026 by winning the Brisbane International. However, last season she experienced a mixed record in tournament finals, winning four out of nine played. Two of those losses were at major events, including the Australian Open where she was beaten by Madison Keys in three sets.
“I actually know what was wrong in all of those finals that I played and I lost, and I would say that last year was lots of lessons, lots of things to learn about myself, and definitely not gonna happen again this season.” A confident Sabalenka states during her press conference.
The reason why she is sure the same won’t happen again is thanks to a new mindset she has adopted. Something the Belarusian thinks will elevate her to the top of her game.
“It’s just a different mentality that I will try to have in each final that I play,” she continued.
“I feel like these frustrations were coming from not agreeing with what’s going on in the moment, and right now my mentality is like I’m ready to do whatever, whatever is going to be in those finals, I’m ready to go out there and fight with what I have and do everything I can.
“I think when I have this mentality, I play my best tennis, and I’m there, I’m fighting, I have my opportunities.”
The player who will be testing Sabalenka’s new mentality is Elena Rybakina, who defeated Jessica Pegula in her semi-final match. The world No.1 has played Rybakina four times in a WTA final, but her only victory was at the 2023 Australian Open. More recently, she lost to the Kazakh in the title match at the WTA Finals last November.
Nevertheless, Sabalenka still leads Rybakina 8-6 in their head-to-head.
“Her shots are heavy, deep and flat balls. It’s not easy to work with but we have a great history,” she said of her rival.
“She’s an incredible player. We had a lot of great battles.
“I’m looking forward to battling this power.”
At the age of 27, Sabalenka aims to become the eighth woman in the Open Era to win the Australian Open for a third time. Should she win two more during her career, she would become the tournament’s second most-decorated female player since 1968 after seven-time winner Serena Williams.
So how does Sabalenka feel about the prospect of potentially being one of the players who defines this era of the tournament?
“I’m not thinking about that. I’m just doing my job,” she states.
“I’m trying to take it one day at a time, one point at a time, one game, one set, and that’s my focus.
“I feel like that’s the right approach to focus on the present, and then maybe by the end of my career, we can sit and look back and talk about that if I’m one of those players.”
Sabalenka is playing in her ninth Australian Open main draw.
