Elena Rybakina beats No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win…
Elena Rybakina received the Australian Open title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday that avenged her loss in the championship decider right here in 2023.
Four years in the past she received the first set but misplaced the ultimate in three. This time, after breaking in the first recreation and taking the first set, she rallied after dropping the second set and going down 3-0 in the third.
Elena Rybakina celebrates her victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open last on January 31, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Aryna Sabalenka reacts after a level against Elena Rybakina during the Australian Open last. AFP via Getty Images
She received 5 straight video games and then closed out with an ace on her first championship level.
It was a second major title for fifth-seeded Rybakina, who received Wimbledon in 2022 and entered that last 4 years in the past as the only major winner in the competition.
Saturday’s win at the Australian Open was a second major title for fifth-seeded Rybakina. AFP via Getty Images
Elena Rybakina kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after successful the Australian Open Women’s Singles Final. Getty Images
While Sabalenka went on to win another three majors, including back-to-back triumphs in Australia and the 2024 and ’25 victories at the US Open, Rybakina’s outcomes dipped and she didn’t attain another major last until this match.
A win over Sabalenka at the season-ending WTA Finals last November has modified her profession trajectory.
Rybakina went on the assault from the start and her serve was strong, with six aces and — aside from the 2 breaks at the end of the second set and the start of the third — she fended off six of the breakpoint possibilities she confronted.
Aryna Sabalenka reveals frustration during her match against Elena Rybakina. Getty Images
While Sabalenka’s grunts and roars intensified and her effusive “let’s go” self-encouragement elevated in regularity as the match wore on, Rybakina maintained a quiet, virtually serene, composure.
In the end, she let her serve and her returns do the speaking.
The pair hugged at the online. Rybakina clapped her left hand on the strings of her racket and held her arm up to the gang triumphantly.
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