Elena Rybakina stunned top seed and rival Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open and her second grand slam title, overturning the world No 1 in a rollercoaster final set where she won six of the final seven games.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner, who had not reached a grand slam final in three years, took down the top seed 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to earn revenge for her 2023 Australian Open final defeat to the same opponent after Sabalenka appeared to be in charge.
In doing so, she denied Sabalenka a third Australian Open title and handed the world No 1 another tough defeat in a major final. Sabalenka has now lost two Australian Open finals in a row, and three out of her last four grand slam finals since the start of last season, losing here from a break up in the decider.
Rybakina, meanwhile, has now won 10 matches in a row against top-10 opponents, a run that started at the WTA Finals at the very end of last season as she defeated Sabalenka in the final. The 26-year-old took that form into the Australian Open to win the title.
After one of the most dramatic days in Australian Open history, tomorrow – one way or another – history will be made as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz meet with two career-defining achievements on the line.
Follow live updates from the Australian Open finals weekend, below
Aryna Sabalenka: ‘I was really upset with myself but she was the better player’
“Once again, I had opportunities. I played great until a certain point and then I couldn’t resist that aggression that she had on court today.
“I was just really upset with myself, but I think overall I played great tennis here in Australia.
“Even in this final I feel like I played great. I was fighting. I did my best, and today she was a better player.”
Tomorrow: Novak Djokovic faces Carlos Alcaraz in Australian Open final
One way or another, history will be made in the Australian Open final on Sunday as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz meet with two career-defining achievements on the line.
After one of the most dramatic semi-final days the tournament has seen, Djokovic returned to his 11th Australian Open final by stunning the defending champion Jannik Sinner in five sets to move one win away from the standalone record of 25 grand slam singles titles. Djokovic, at 38, is also bidding to become the oldest Australian Open champion of all time.
At the other end of the scale, world No 1 Alcaraz can become the youngest man of all time to complete the career grand slam, at the age of 22, after reaching his first Australian Open final. The Spaniard triumphed in five hours and 27 minutes to beat Alexander Zverev in five sets on Friday, in the longest semi-final in the tournament’s history.
Aryna Sabalenka ‘moving towards the right direction’ despite defeat
Aryna Sabalenka is asked about her record in grand slam finals, now that she has lost a third in four attempts, taking her overall record to 4-4.
It’s clearly a tough loss for Sabalenka to process, but she maintains that she handled the occasion much better than her defeats to Madison Keys and Coco Gauff last year.
“Overall it was much better than last year, the two finals I lost. Level-wise and the decisions I was making and the way that the mentality was throughout the whole match, I was still there, I was ready to fight, I knew that she was not going to give it easily to me.
“So I think overall I made huge improvement on that, and I still lost it. But it’s okay. I feel like I’m moving towards the right direction.
“Ambitions are still the same. Keep fighting, keep working hard, keep putting myself out there, and try my best if I’ll have another chance in the final. Just go out there and do my best.”
Aryna Sabalenka: ‘It’s tennis: today you’re loser, tomorrow you’re winner’
“She played incredible match and tried my very best. I was fighting until the very last point.
“I had my opportunities. It feels like I missed couple, but it’s tennis. Today you’re loser. Tomorrow you’re winner. Hopefully I’ll be more of a winner this season than a loser. Hoping right now, and praying.
“Of course I have regrets. When you lead 3-Love and then it felt like in few seconds it was 3-4, and I was down with a break. So it was very fast.
“Great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart for me. But as I say, today I’m a loser, maybe tomorrow I’m a winner, maybe again a loser.”
Championship point! How Elena Rybakina won Australian Open
Ice cool from Rybakina. The ace. The clenched fist. A hint of a smile, even! A grand slam champion again.
Watch out Wimbledon? Rybakina is back as a grand slam contender
With her first serve and big first-strike, Rybakina is going to be a massive contender at each of the major tournaments this season. Four years on from her breakthrough Wimbledon triumph, she might return to Centre Court as the big favourite.
Aryna Sabalenka suffers another tough defeat in a major final
Since the start of last season, Sabalenka has a 5-6 record in finals.
That includes defeats to Madison Keys at the Australian Open, Coco Gauff at Roland Garros, Elena Rybakina at the WTA Finals, and Rybakina at the Australian Open.
The No 1 led 3-0 in the final set, only for Rybakina to win five games in a row and six of the last seven in total, to hand Sabalenka another tough defeat.
Sabalenka’s consistency is undisputed – with seven grand slam finals in a row at the hard-courts. But her frustration in finals continues.
A match-up problem for Aryna Sabalenka?
We will have to wait and hear from Sabalenka to understand how much of a difference the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena made, with the indoor conditions favouring Rybakina’s flat serving.
Sabalenka has now lost seven of her last 11 matches against Rybakina, though, after defeats in the Australian Open final and at the WTA Finals. She is dominant against most other players, but Rybakina is a problem.
Elena Rybakina carries brilliant form into Australian Open title run
Elena Rybakina’s sensational form began towards the end of last season. She put together a string of wins to qualify for the WTA Finals, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the title.
After beating top seed Sabalenka in the final, second seed Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals and sixth seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, Rybakina has won 10 matches in a row against top-10 opponents.
Rybakina has also won 20 of her last 21 matches.
Elena Rybakina, composed as ever, celebrates with the Australian Open trophy
“I’m speechless right now,” says the chill Rybakina. “But of course I want to congratulate Aryna with the amazing results for a couple of year. I know it’s tough but I just hope that we’re gonna play many more finals together and of course congrats to your team for all the improvements, a great job you’ve done.
”I want to say thank you of course to you guys [the crowd] for such an incredible atmosphere. It was a battle and honestly your support kept us going. Thank you so much to Kazakhstan
”And of course I would like to say thank you to my team, without you it won’t be possible, really. We had a lot of things going on and I’m really glad that we achieved this result.”
