Elena Rybakina stuns Aryna Sabalenka to win Australian Open women’s singles final – as it happened

Elena Rybakina

Kazakhstani rallies from 3-0 down in final set for glory 

2023 runner-up turns tables with 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win

 Elena Rybakina had many reasons to lose faith in her latest pursuit of a second grand slam title. She had played so well for so much of the Australian Open final but, just like in their first final in Melbourne three years ago, once Aryna Sabalenka began to impose herself in the match, Rybakina lost all control. Trailing 0-3 in the final set, the Kazakhstani’s chances were fading quickly.

Rybakina is renowned for her undemonstrative nature, but her reserved personality belies the grit at the heart of her success. The fifth seed drew on her inner fire to produce one of the great comebacks of her career, finding a path to victory from a break down in the final set to clinch her first Australian Open title with a supreme 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over the world No 1.

This triumph confirms a development that has been clear for some time: Rybakina is the in-form in women’s tennis right now. The 26-year-old’s long-awaited second slam title comes after she ended last season by winning the WTA Finals with a commanding victory over Sabalenka in the final. Rybakina was floundering outside the top 10 as recently as July, but her victory solidified her position among the elite by returning to her career-high ranking of No 3. Nobody has won more matches than her since Wimbledon last year.

She closed out the title in a stellar match, a quality exhibition of first-strike tennis where both champions stepped up and no tennis ball was spared from annihilation. There were just five rallies over nine shots in two hours, 18 minutes of play, and such was their irrelevance, four of those long rallies were won by Sabalenka. Both players served and played well for large parts of the match, but it was Rybakina who swung freely with her back to the wall in the final set and she was rewarded for her courage.