Australian Open 2026: Rybakina Fights Back to Defeat Sabalenka in Thrilling Final

Aryna Sabalenka was the favourite going into the final. However, past results showed that Yelena Rybakina is a tough opponent for her. Sabalenka leads the head-to-head record 8-6, but neither player has won two matches in a row in their last nine meetings. When Rybakina won one match, Sabalenka won the next. Based on this pattern, many expected Sabalenka to win the Australian Open again. But Rybakina broke the trend and won the final.

Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam title by beating Rybakina in the 2023 Australian Open final. Three years later, Rybakina took revenge. Sabalenka reached the Australian Open final for the fourth straight year but has now lost the last two finals in a row.

A trophy worthy of a smile 😉🏆

Elena Rybakina puts on a masterclass against Aryna Sabalenka 6-0, 6-3 to claim career title No.6 in Brisbane!#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/cN0OiJ3r8E

— wta (@WTA) January 7, 2024

Rybakina Takes Strong Early Lead

Yelena Rybakina started the match by breaking Aryna Sabalenka’s serve. She then held her own serve well. The 26-year-old won the first set 6-4 in 37 minutes.

Rybakina Turns the Match Around

In the second set, both players held serve in the first eight games. In the 10th game, Sabalenka broke Rybakina’s serve and won the set 6-4.

Sabalenka again broke Rybakina’s serve in the second game of the third set. She took a 3-0 lead, but could not keep the momentum. Rybakina came back strongly and broke Sabalenka’s serve in two straight games. She took a 4-3 lead, and Sabalenka could not recover from it.