Elena Rybakina claimed the 2026 Australian Open women’s singles title with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a gripping final at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Saturday 31st, January 2026.
The match, played under a closed roof and starting at 11:30am EAT on Saturday, lasted two hours and 18 minutes and delivered high-quality tennis from start to finish.
The 26-year-old Kazakh, seeded fifth, showed composure and power to secure her second Grand Slam title and her first in Melbourne, three years after losing to Sabalenka in the 2023 final.
Rybakina dropped just one set throughout the tournament, having also defeated world No.2 on her path to the title, underlining her dominance during the fortnight.
Rybakina made a strong start to the final, breaking Sabalenka early in the opening set and backing it up with confident serving and clean baseline hitting.
She absorbed pressure at key moments, saving break points with pace and accuracy before closing out the first set 6-4.
Sabalenka responded in the second set, raising her intensity and eventually breaking late to take it 6-4 and force a deciding set.
Carrying that momentum forward, the top seed moved into an early lead in the third set, but Rybakina remained calm and steadily worked her way back into the contest.
The turning point came midway through the final set when Rybakina broke serve to move ahead, then held firm under pressure as the crowd sensed the finish.
On championship point, she sealed the title in emphatic fashion with an ace, sparking celebrations inside Rod Laver Arena.
The win places Rybakina in elite company as one of the few players in the Open Era to win her first two Grand Slam titles on different surfaces, following her Wimbledon triumph in 2022.
She also becomes the first woman since 2019 to win the Australian Open by defeating three top-10 opponents.
For Sabalenka, the defeat marked her fourth consecutive Australian Open final, another strong showing despite falling just short.
For Rybakina, however, the night belonged entirely to her as she finally claimed the Melbourne crown and established herself as one of the leading forces in women’s tennis.
