Australian Open 2026: Elena Rybakina beats world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win maiden AO title

Elena Rybakina produced a stunning fightback to defeat World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and clinch the Australian Open 2026 women’s singles title at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

In a blockbuster final featuring two of the tour’s most powerful hitters, world no. 5 Rybakina showed remarkable composure in the deciding set to turn the match around and seal her first Australian Open crown and the second Grand Slam title of her career with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win. Sabalenka, despite another high-quality performance, suffered a second consecutive final defeat in Melbourne.

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Elena Rybakina defeats Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to claim her first Australian Open title! #AO26 pic.twitter.com/Pxj6A0qHJy

— wta (@WTA) January 31, 2026

The title clash was a rematch of the Australian Open 2023 final, where Sabalenka had rallied from a set down to beat Rybakina and lift her maiden Grand Slam trophy. Turning the table this time, it was the big-serving Kazakh who delivered the late twist, flipping the match in the third set to deny Sabalenka a third Australian Open title.

Elena Rybakina reverses the result from 2023! pic.twitter.com/SNEFYc92yS

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) January 31, 2026

Rybakina struck first in the opening set, holding her nerve in the early exchanges and using her serve as a weapon to blunt Sabalenka’s aggressive baseline game. Sabalenka tried to impose herself with early intensity, but Rybakina absorbed the pressure and capitalised on her chances to take the set 6-4.

As expected, Sabalenka responded like a champion. The world No. 1 raised her level in the second set, stepping inside the baseline and attacking relentlessly to keep Rybakina under constant pressure. A dominant service break swung the momentum decisively, and Sabalenka closed out the set 6-4 to force a deciding third set, echoing the pattern of their 2023 final.

Sabalenka looked poised to complete another Melbourne comeback when she surged into a 3-0 lead in the final set. But Rybakina refused to fade. Showing tremendous resilience, she broke Sabalenka twice to claw her way back into the contest and swing momentum firmly in her favour.

With the championship on the line, the Kazakh held her nerve under pressure and finished the match with a composed closing stretch, completing an incredible turnaround to claim the Australian Open 2026 title.

The victory makes Rybakina the Australian Open champion for the first time and hands her a second major title, further cementing her status among the elite on hard courts. She also continues her strong recent record against Sabalenka, having beaten the Belarusian in the WTA Finals title match in Saudi Arabia in November and now doing so again on the biggest stage in Melbourne.

For Sabalenka, it was another painful final defeat at a tournament she has dominated in recent years. After winning the title in 2023 and 2024, she has now lost two consecutive Australian Open finals, falling in a three-set thriller to Madison Keys in 2025 and now being edged out by Rybakina in another dramatic decider in 2026.

Sabalenka showed her trademark class and intensity throughout the match, but on the day, Rybakina’s stunning comeback in the final set proved decisive as the Kazakh celebrated a memorable triumph at Rod Laver Arena.

The final match of the 2026 Australian Open is set to happen between none other than Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, February 1, at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park.