Elena Rybakina Defeats Aryna Sabalenka To Win 2026 Australian Open
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. If that’s the case, Elena Rybakina just served up a five-course meal straight out of the freezer. Three years ago, on this very same blue court in Melbourne, Rybakina watched a one-set lead evaporate against Aryna Sabalenka. She watched her opponent lift the trophy. She watched history slip through her fingers. On Saturday night, the tennis gods decided it was time for a rewrite—and Rybakina was holding the pen.
In a match that had more mood swings than a teenager, Rybakina captured her second Grand Slam title and first Australian Open crown, defeating the top-ranked Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. But the score line, tidy as it looks, doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the panic, the power, and the sheer audacity of what happened in that third set.
The “Ice Queen” Melts the Deficit
When Sabalenka went up 3-0 in the decider, most of us were already drafting our eulogies for Rybakina’s title hopes. Sabalenka, the defending champion, was roaring like a lioness, pounding the ball with the kind of ferocity that usually makes opponents check their flight schedules home. The momentum wasn’t just shifting; it had fully packed its bags and moved into Sabalenka’s corner.
Rybakina, on the other hand, looked like she always does. While Sabalenka was practically breathing fire, screaming “Let’s go!” and turning the volume inside Rod Laver Arena up to eleven, Rybakina looked like she was waiting in line at the DMV. Cool. Detached. Almost disturbingly calm.
But beneath that stoic exterior, the gears were turning. Down a break and staring into the abyss, the Kazakh star didn’t blink. She simply stopped missing. She reeled off five straight games, flipping the script so fast that Sabalenka got whiplash. Rybakina turned a 0-3 nightmare into a 5-3 lead, showcasing the kind of mental fortitude you can’t teach in a clinic.
A Clash Of Styles and Decibels
This final was always going to be a study in contrasts. You have Sabalenka, who wears her heart on her sleeve, grunting through every shot with visceral intensity. Then you have Rybakina, whose heart rate probably wouldn’t spike if she were being chased by a bear.
For the first set, the silent assassin routine worked perfectly. She broke early, served bombs, and took the opener 6-4. But Sabalenka is World No. 1 for a reason. She battered her way back into the match in the second set, leveling the playing field and setting the stage for that dramatic third act.
It was in those final moments, serving for the championship, that Rybakina truly shone. She didn’t wobble. She didn’t let the ghosts of 2023 haunt the baseline. She stepped up and hammered an ace on her first championship point.
Rybakina Joins the Elite
With this victory, Rybakina isn’t just a “one-slam wonder” anymore—a label that unfairly hangs over Wimbledon winners who don’t immediately back it up. She now has bookend majors: the grass of London and the hard courts of Melbourne.
Perhaps even more impressive is her reputation as a giant killer. By taking down Sabalenka, Rybakina officially overtook Serena Williams for the highest winning percentage against World No. 1 players (minimum 10 meetings). She is winning 60% of her matches against the best player in the world. That is an absurd stat. It basically means when the lights are brightest and the opponent is toughest, Rybakina is arguably the most dangerous woman on the planet.
The Team Back Together
It’s worth noting the human element in the box, too. Rybakina’s coach, Stefano Vukov, has been a controversial figure, serving a suspension last year that kept him away from the tour. His return seems to have sparked something in Rybakina. She credited the team’s resilience during the trophy ceremony, noting, “We had a lot of things going on.” It was a vague, typically understated acknowledgment of the chaos, but the result speaks for itself.
Sabalenka, gracious in defeat despite the sting of losing a 3-0 lead, joked, “Let’s hope next year is better for me.” But if Rybakina keeps playing with this blend of icy composure and fiery shot-making, “better” is going to be hard to come by for anyone else on tour.
