MELBOURNE – Elena Rybakina can finally put the 2023 Australian Open final behind her. Tonight, she faced Aryna Sabalenka once again for the title in Melbourne – a déjà vu of what happened three years ago. The big difference this time: it was Rybakina who lifted the trophy.
The Kazakh, world No. 5, defeated the Belarusian 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and recent champion at the WTA 500 in Brisbane, came into the Rod Laver Arena as the overwhelming favourite, playing her fourth straight final in Melbourne.
But Rybakina found in her serve the key to dismantle the 2025 US Open champion. She broke in the very first game and managed that lead confidently through each of her service games. It was no surprise: the new world No. 3 has long been one of the best servers on tour.
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What she couldn’t prevent was Sabalenka’s surge in level. The top seed realised that if she kept playing the same way, she would lose another Grand Slam final — just as she did last year in Melbourne and Paris.
The match went into a deciding set, where the WTA Finals champion came dangerously close to finishing runner-up again. Down 0–3, and helped by Sabalenka’s own errors, Rybakina fought back to claim her first Australian Open title — her second Grand Slam after Wimbledon 2022.
For Sabalenka, meanwhile, the ghosts of finals have returned. She has won four majors, but lost just as many. In Melbourne, she’s now let two consecutive finals slip away.
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