Elena Rybakina tamed Aryna Sabalenka’s firepower to clinch her maiden Australian Open title after coming through a roller-coaster encounter at Melbourne Park.
The fifth seed produced a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 triumph over the world No.1 in a thriller that saw Rybakina not dropping her serve until almost 90 minutes into the final before having to battle back from a 0-3 deficit in the third set. After also beating Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula earlier in the draw, Rybakina is the first woman in seven years to beat three top 10 players en route to the trophy.
In an encounter full of twists and turns, the 27-year-old blasted 28 winners and won 76% of her first service points to underline her status as one of the most in-form players currently on the Tour. Since Wimbledon last year, Rybakina has won more matches than any other WTA player, winning 20 out of her last 21 played.
“It’s hard to find the words but I want to congratulate Aryna. She’s had amazing results for a couple of years and I hope we’re going to play many more finals together,” said Rybakina.
“I want to say thank you to you [the crowd] for an incredible atmosphere.
“Your support kept us going. Thank you everyone who made this tournament possible. It really is the ‘Happy Slam’, I always enjoy coming here and playing in front of you guys.”
How the match unfolded
Saturday’s showdown marked the 15th instalment of the rivalry between Rybakina and Sabalenka, who have played against each other on the Tour more times than against any other player in their careers. Rybakina got off to a dream start, reading her rivals’ serves like a book and hitting deep returns to dictate play. In the first game, the Kazakh struck right away by breaking after a Sabalenka forehand drifted wide.
Sabalenka eventually settled into the opener but was still unable to conjure up a way to draw level. Best illustrated in the eighth game, when she had back-to-back break points but was denied by some impressive serving from her opponent, who responded by winning four points in a row. This resilience rewarded Rybakina the opening set in just over 40 minutes as she closed it out with the help of a forehand mistake from the top seed.
The frustration continued for Sabalenka, who was unable to convert a trio of break points early on in the second set. It wasn’t until almost 90 minutes into proceedings that the Belarusian got her breakthrough at the expense of her rival, who cracked under pressure.
Serving at 4-5, Rybakina got off to a poor start with a failed drop shot. Then, another unforced error two points later moved Sabalenka to set point, which she converted with a forehand down the line that was too much for Rybakina to handle.
Continuing her fight back, Sabalenka looked to be closing in on becoming only the eighth woman in the Open Era to win a third Australian Open title after racing out to a 3-0 lead in the decider. However, another dramatic twist unfolded.|
Rybakina responded by claiming four consecutive games to restore her lead. Continuing to capitalise on Sabalenka’s mistakes, she moved to a 5-3 stronghold with the help of her serve once again, much to Sabalenka’s annoyance, who threw her racket on the ground.
Serving for her first Grand Slam title since the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Rybakina surged to championship point with a serve down the center of the court before sealing glory with her sixth ace of the match.
“I want to say thank you to my team – without you, it wouldn’t be possible. We had a lot of things going on and I’m glad we achieved this result. Hopefully we can keep on going strong this year.” The new champion commented.
Sabalenka left speechless
As Rybakina relishes in her victory, Sabalenka is left kicking herself for squandering her lead in the third set. It was the fourth year in a row that the two-time champion has contested the final in Melbourne.
“I’m really speechless right now. I’ll try not to forget anything,” Sabalenka said during the trophy presentation. “I want to start with Elena, I want to congratulate you on an incredible run, incredible tennis. Congrats to you and your team on such an incredible achievement.
“Thank you to everyone who makes this tournament possible. I love being here and playing in front of you — all you guys are incredible supporters. Let’s hope maybe next year will be a better year for me!”
Sabalenka has won five out of 10 finals contested since the start of 2025.
Rybakina has scored 10 consecutive wins over top 10 players. Something that has only been matched by Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Iga Swiatek this century. Against world No.1 opposition, she is 9-6, which is a 60% winning record.
Ryabkina exits the Australian Open with A$4,150,000 in prize money and will rise to third in the WTA rankings on Monday.
