Elena Rybakina beats No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win Australian Open
CBSN
Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday that avenged her loss in the championship decider here in 2023. In:
Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday that avenged her loss in the championship decider here in 2023.
Four years ago she won the first set but lost the final in three. This time, after breaking in the first game and taking the first set, she rallied after losing the second set and going down 3-0 in the third. She won five straight games and then closed out with an ace on her first championship point.
It was a second major title for fifth-seeded Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and entered that Australian final four years ago as the only major winner in the contest.
While Sabalenka went on to win another three majors, including back-to-back triumphs in Australia and the 2024 and '25 victories at the U.S. Open, Rybakina's results dipped and she didn't reach another major final until this tournament.
A win over Sabalenka at the season-ending WTA Finals last November has changed her career trajectory.
