As Rod Laver Arena held its breath in the deciding set of the women’s final, Elena Rybakina didn’t give an inch of emotion away.
The 26-year-old Kazakh was up a break and on serve with world number one Aryna Sabalenka waiting on the other side of the court.
She held. And with that, claimed her maiden Australian Open title and cemented her status as one of the current women’s tour’s best.
In front of a packed centre-court crowd, the power-hitting Kazakh defeated two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka in three sets — 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
She wasn’t the favourite heading into the evening and there had been question marks around her consistency since her 2022 breakthrough Wimbledon win. But in putting away the two-time Australian Open champion, she proved that first slam win was no fluke.
Her 2026 Melbourne Park campaign was dominant, composed and very, very consistent. She has now won 20 of her last 21 matches, defeating nine straight top 10 opponents in that span.
Rybakina was composed and consistent throughout a hard-fought final. (Getty Images: Mark Avellino/Anadolu)
It was a competitive women’s final that the Open needed.
In a tournament severely lacking in three-set matches on centre court in the women’s draw, fans and organisers alike were triumphant as Sabalenka sent the match into a decider after Rybakina won the first.
While other matches this year have looked like they’ve had a clear winner early on, fans were kept in suspense until the final game.
As expected from two big hitters, many of the points were dictated by who was serving. They moved each other around the court, yet as the match progressed, so did the rallies and the building of points.
Each had their moments commanding the court. Sabalenka took her frustration out on her racquet while Rybakina’s face and body language remained, as it usually does, composed.
Contrary to what was happening on the other side of the net, Sabalenka was wearing her emotions on her sleeve. (Getty Images: Darrian Traynor)
Rybakina claimed the first set after she broke Sabalenka’s opening service game with two impressive heavy forehand winners. It was the first set Sabalenka had lost all season.
Sabalenka then broke Rybakina in the last game of the second set. Similarly, it was the first set the Kazakh had dropped all tournament.
The deciding set swung in momentum. It was Sabalenka who first broke Rybakina in the second game with consecutive backhand winners.
For a moment, that looked to set the course for a run home for Sabalenka but Rybakina broke two games later and then again in the seventh game.
Rybakina showed hardly any emotion in claiming her maiden Australian Open title. (Getty Images: Phil Walter)
As Sabalenka started to throw her racquet in frustration as the match slipped from her grasp, Rybakina remained emotionless.
Their starkly different on-court personalities very much on show as the match hurdled towards its ending.
In the last set, Sabalenka dropped her racquet twice, once kicking it on the ground during a game and then bouncing it afterwards.
The juxtaposition of personalities adds to the entertainment value in what’s becoming a genuine rivalry between the pair; the Australian Open 2026 final the latest important chapter within it.
The final was their 15th meeting on tour, with Sabalenka holding a narrow edge 8-7.
Although it was heartbreak for Sabalenka, who was denied her third Australian Open title in four years, it feels almost inevitable she will have an opportunity to avenge the defeat soon.
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