Elena Rybakina Plays Aryna Sabalenka for Australian Open Title
Australian Open
January 29, 2026
Elena Rybakina and her beautiful, flowing tennis will feature in the Australian Open final once more.
And not for the first time, the awesome Aryna Sabalenka will stand in her way. It’s a repeat of the Melbourne final three years ago – won by Sabalenka.
Rybakina recalled: ‘It was a great battle and in the end she played a bit better. I want to enjoy the final and hopefully I’m going to serve better. I’m so excited.’
Elena Rybakina is poetry in motion. To watch her looping stroke play close up is truly an unforgettable experience. See for yourself at Wimbledon 2026!
America’s Jessica Pegula simply didn’t turn up mentally for the first part of one of the biggest matches of her life in Australia.
The opening set was a frustrating, racquet-smashing display of petulance. Pegula is a player who could bring so much more – as we saw towards the end with her rousing fightback.
Rybakina admitted: ‘It was an epic second set – and I’m just super-happy to be in the final. It was really, really stressful.’
But Elena deserved her 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) semi-final victory. Pegula could only provide flashes of what might have been – saving three match points and forcing that dramatic tie-break in the second.
Sadly, Jessica couldn’t sustain it, despite having two set points herself to force a third.
Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are giants of the women’s game – and we believe both will go deep at Wimbledon 2026. Maybe Jessica Pegula can finally summon a title charge on grass too!
Four years ago it was Rybakina who triumphed on the manicured green grass of the All England Club in London, defeating Ons Jabeur in the showpiece.
For her part, Sabalenka hasn’t yet won Wimbledon. But she has now reached four Australian Open finals in a row. She has won the title Down Under twice. And she hasn’t yet dropped a set in 2026.
Her battling attitude to her semi-final resulted in an ominous 6-2, 6-3 win over Elina Svitolina. Like Pegula, Svitolina fell short psychologically in the final analysis.
Aryna admitted: ‘It’s an incredible achievement. But the job is not done yet. I’m just super-happy to be through this one.
‘[Elina] has been so aggressive all tournament. I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure back on her – and the level was here.’
Svitolina had her chances. She was 2-0 ahead in the second before being overpowered by the favourite.
You don’t beat Sabalenka without a consistency of self-belief. Svitolina had it in patches. But she didn’t have the confidence to impose herself properly on the match.
Elina can still be more than satisfied with her tournament. At 31, she reached her first Melbourne semi-final. And she is back in the top ten.
For Sabalenka, there is only one goal. She wants her title back. And it will take a superhuman effort from Rybakina to stop her.
Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka will take the breath away at Wimbledon 2026 too!
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