Watch Elena Rybakina inflict further Grand Slam final heartbreak on world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a dramatic third-set fightback to win her first Australian Open title.
READ MORE: Rybakina beats Sabalenka for first Australian Open title
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In a meeting between two of the biggest hitters on the women’s tour, Rybakina neutralised Sabalenka’s trademark power with clean ball-striking and clutch serving, before digging deep in the deciding set.
Sabalenka has spent 75 weeks at the top of the rankings and remains the dominant player in the women’s game – particularly on hard courts, with this her seventh consecutive major final on the surface.
But Rybakina has emerged as the Belarusian’s kryptonite after winning seven of their past nine hard court encounters.
Having appeared on course for an impressive comeback win, Sabalenka sat with her towel over her head as she contemplated that yet another final had slipped from her grasp.
Rybakina, meanwhile, was able to celebrate a hugely impressive run to the title, having also overpowered world number two Iga Swiatek and sixth seed Jessica Pegula on her way to the final.
She has now won her past 10 matches against fellow top-10 players and is the first player to claim the title by defeating three top-10 players in each round from the quarter-finals onwards since Naomi Osaka in 2019.
Rybakina is undoubtedly the form player on the WTA Tour, boasting more wins than anyone else since the end of Wimbledon last year (38) and losing just once in her past 21 matches.
Aryna Sabalenka kept her cool to storm past Elina Svitolina and reach a fourth Australian Open final in a row.
World number one Sabalenka overcame fluctuations in form and a hindrance call against her in the fourth game of the match to thrash Svitolina 6-2 6-3.
Ukraine’s 12th seed Svitolina had beaten two top-10 players to reach the semi-finals but was no match for Sabalenka’s powerful hitting.
Sabalenka has yet to drop a set this year and is now on an 11-match winning streak.
She will face either Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula on Saturday as she bids for a fifth Grand Slam singles title and a third here.
The 27-year-old will also be searching for some redemption after last year’s final, when she felt she was “not brave enough” in a three-set loss to Madison Keys.
“I cannot believe that,” Sabalenka said of reaching another Melbourne final.
“It is an incredible achievement but the job is not done yet.”
More to follow.
Ranked 27th in the world, Jovic is playing her first Grand Slam as a seeded player.
Just 12 months ago, she was 191st in the rankings.
She won a first WTA Tour-level title at Guadalajara in Mexico during a breakthrough 2025 season, while she also won her first WTA 125 title at the Ilkley Open.
And she started 2026 on the front foot – reaching the semi-finals in Auckland before a run to the Hobart International final, where she lost to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
“She is like a shining light, she’s burst on to the scene, she’s risen up so quickly but she brings a sense of purpose every single time she hits the ball, and you just watch the intensity of the footwork and there’s purpose behind every single ball she’s hitting,” former British number one Annabel Croft told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Jovic has won 11 matches already this year – more than anyone else on the WTA Tour.
“This is such great news for women’s tennis and I’m so excited every time she steps on the court because she brings so much sunshine and so much light, a beautiful energy,” former world number five Daniela Hantuchova added.
“She is the ultimate professional, super disciplined and committed and her technique is unbelievable.”