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Elena Rybakina staved off a spirited fightback from Aryna Sabalenka to win her maiden Australian Open and only the second Grand Slam title of her career. Rybakina defeated Sabalenka 6-4 4-6 6-4 to deny the Belarusian her third victory at Melbourne Park in the last four editions and the fifth Major of her career.
World No 1 Sabalenka, who made her fourth consecutive appearance in the Australian Open women's singles final, fought back from a set down to level the scores, and was leading 3-0 in the deciding set on Saturday at the Rod Laver Arena.
Rybakina, who had won her only Grand Slam more than three years ago at the 2022 Wimbledon, refused to give up at this stage, and would bounce back in style by reeling off five games in a row. And though broken by Sabalenka while serving for the Championship, she managed to win the following game, sealing her title with an ace.
Reacting to missing out on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the second year running, the Belarusian – who had outplayed Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in straight sets in the semi-finals – remained gracious in defeat and hoped for better luck next year.
"I want to start with Elena. I want to congratulate you on an incredible run, incredible tennis. Congrats to you and your team on such an incredible achievement. I love being here, I love playing in front of you. All you guys are incredible support. I am always looking forward to come and play in front of you. Let’s hope next year will be a better year for me," Sabalenka said after accepting the runner-up trophy in the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Thank you Craig for taking the best care of us. You give everything we need, and that’s amazing. Thank you to my team for always being there, for enjoying losing finals, but also sometimes you win them. So let’s hope for the best. Let’s hope next year the Daphne’s going to be ours," she added.
Rybakina, who was born in Moscow but switched nationality to represent Kazakhstan since 2018, hoped for more battles with Sabalenka in the future after emerging triumphant in Saturday's fierce battle in Melbourne.
The 26-year-old had previously defeated Sabalanka in straight sets (6-3 7-6 (7-0)) in the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh in November.
"Hard to find words now. But want to congratulate Aryna for her amazing results for a couple of years. I know it’s tough, but I just hope that we’re going to play many more finals together. Of course congrats to the team to the improvements. Great job," Rybakina, who has now won 20 of her last 21 games, said after her victory on Saturday.
"I want to say thank you to you guys for such an incredible atmosphere. Honestly your support kept us going. Thank you so much to Kazakhstan. Thank you everyone who made this tournament possible. Tennis Australia for making us feel so well here. It’s really a ‘Happy Slam’, and I always enjoy coming here and playing in front of you guys.
"I would like to say thank you to my team. Without you, it wouldn’t be possible really. We had a lot of things going on, and I’m really glad that we achieved this result. Thank you to all of you, and hopefully we can keep on going strong this year. Also I would like to say thank you to the medical team here. Always doing a great job," she added.
World No 1 Sabalenka, who made her fourth consecutive appearance in the Australian Open women's singles final, fought back from a set down to level the scores, and was leading 3-0 in the deciding set on Saturday at the Rod Laver Arena.
Rybakina, who had won her only Grand Slam more than three years ago at the 2022 Wimbledon, refused to give up at this stage, and would bounce back in style by reeling off five games in a row. And though broken by Sabalenka while serving for the Championship, she managed to win the following game, sealing her title with an ace.
ELENA RYBAKINA IS AN AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION 🏆
The No.5 seed defeats Aryna Sabalenka in an enthralling three-set encounter in Melbourne 👏 @wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/iWAAHFZFHR
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2026
Sabalenka hails Rybakina on an 'incredible achievement'
Reacting to missing out on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the second year running, the Belarusian – who had outplayed Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in straight sets in the semi-finals – remained gracious in defeat and hoped for better luck next year.
"I want to start with Elena. I want to congratulate you on an incredible run, incredible tennis. Congrats to you and your team on such an incredible achievement. I love being here, I love playing in front of you. All you guys are incredible support. I am always looking forward to come and play in front of you. Let’s hope next year will be a better year for me," Sabalenka said after accepting the runner-up trophy in the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Thank you Craig for taking the best care of us. You give everything we need, and that’s amazing. Thank you to my team for always being there, for enjoying losing finals, but also sometimes you win them. So let’s hope for the best. Let’s hope next year the Daphne’s going to be ours," she added.
'We had a lot of things going on'
Rybakina, who was born in Moscow but switched nationality to represent Kazakhstan since 2018, hoped for more battles with Sabalenka in the future after emerging triumphant in Saturday's fierce battle in Melbourne.
The 26-year-old had previously defeated Sabalanka in straight sets (6-3 7-6 (7-0)) in the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh in November.
Elena Rybakina had earlier defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh in November. Reuters
"Hard to find words now. But want to congratulate Aryna for her amazing results for a couple of years. I know it’s tough, but I just hope that we’re going to play many more finals together. Of course congrats to the team to the improvements. Great job," Rybakina, who has now won 20 of her last 21 games, said after her victory on Saturday.
"I want to say thank you to you guys for such an incredible atmosphere. Honestly your support kept us going. Thank you so much to Kazakhstan. Thank you everyone who made this tournament possible. Tennis Australia for making us feel so well here. It’s really a ‘Happy Slam’, and I always enjoy coming here and playing in front of you guys.
"I would like to say thank you to my team. Without you, it wouldn’t be possible really. We had a lot of things going on, and I’m really glad that we achieved this result. Thank you to all of you, and hopefully we can keep on going strong this year. Also I would like to say thank you to the medical team here. Always doing a great job," she added.
