Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina has won her second Grand Slam title after defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final match of the Australia Open 2026 on Saturday, January 31. Rybakina secured a third-set brilliant comeback to secure the victory over the Belarusian star, defeating her by sets of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. For the Kazakhstani, the victory was a special one, having avenged her 2023 finals loss against Sabalenka in the tournament.
Fifth-seeded Rybakina, who won her first Grand Slam title back in the 2022 Wimbledon, had made it to the Australian Open finals the same year, entering the event as the only major title winner. Born in Moscow, Rybakina, however, represents Kazakhstan. After becoming the Australian Open 2026 women’s singles champion, the Kazakhstani player in the post-match interview expressed her excitement about achieving the victory against a top-seeded player like Sabalenka.
She said, “The heart rate was definitely beating too fast. Even maybe (my) face didn’t show, but inside it was a lot of emotions. It’s an opportunity to close. I knew that the only advantage I have in this moment (is) I have to serve it out. It gives me a kind of relief, also, a lot of confidence for sure for the rest of the season.”
Rybakina’s road to the finals began with a successful campaign in the first-round match, where she defeated Slovania’s Kaja Juvan by 6-4, 6-3, followed by her second-round win over France’s Varvara Gracheva, third-round against the Czech Republic’s Tereza Valentova and the fourth-round win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
Meanwhile, in the quarterfinals, the Kazakhstani defeated world no. 2 Iga Świątek of Poland by 7-5, 6-1, continuing her dominant run against America’s Jessica Pegula, later ending it in a decisive win over Sabalenka.
In the finals game against Sabalenka, Rybakina took the lead in the first set but went on to lose the second set, but then rallied in the third and final set to secure the win.
The 2026 Australian Open will, however, conclude with the men’s singles final match between world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, scheduled for Sunday, February 1. The battle will be a rematch of the Paris 2025 Olympics gold medal match held at Rod Laver Arena. Earlier in the semi-finals, Djokovic ended second seed Jannik Sinner’s campaign in a hard-fought clash.
