Elena Rybakina beats No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win Australian Open

3 days ago 6

Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open rubric with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 triumph implicit top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka connected Saturday that avenged her nonaccomplishment successful the title decider present successful 2023.

Four years agone she won the archetypal acceptable but mislaid the last successful three. This time, aft breaking successful the archetypal crippled and taking the archetypal set, she rallied aft losing the 2nd acceptable and going down 3-0 successful the third. She won 5 consecutive games and past closed retired with an ace connected her archetypal title point.

It was a 2nd large rubric for fifth-seeded Rybakina, who won Wimbledon successful 2022 and entered that Australian last 4 years agone arsenic the lone large victor successful the contest.

While Sabalenka went connected to triumph different 3 majors, including back-to-back triumphs successful Australia and the 2024 and '25 victories astatine the U.S. Open, Rybakina's results dipped and she didn't scope different large last until this tournament.

A triumph implicit Sabalenka astatine the season-ending WTA Finals past November has changed her vocation trajectory.

Rybakina went connected the onslaught from the commencement and her service was strong, with six aces and - isolated from the 2 breaks astatine the extremity of the 2nd acceptable and the commencement of the 3rd - she fended disconnected six of the breakpoint chances she faced.

While Sabalenka's grunts and roars intensified and her effusive "let's go" self-encouragement accrued successful regularity arsenic the lucifer wore on, Rybakina maintained a quiet, astir serene, composure.

In the end, she fto her service and her returns bash the talking.

The brace hugged astatine the net. Rybakina clapped her near manus connected the strings of her racket and held her limb up to the assemblage triumphantly.