Elena Rybakina has emerged victorious over two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka, dispelling her reputation as a one-slam wonder with a thrilling Australian Open final win in Melbourne.

In a dramatic showdown, Rybakina avenged her 2023 title match defeat to the Belarusian by overcoming a service break in the final set. Her powerful performance on Saturday night secured her the Open title, adding to her 2022 Wimbledon victory.

This hard-fought triumph completed a rare golden double for the formidable Kazakh, who had previously bested the top-ranked Sabalenka at last year’s prestigious season-ending championship in Saudi Arabia.

Rybakina’s path to the final was impressive, having defeated world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and sixth-ranked Jessica Pegula. She became the first woman since Naomi Osaka in 2019 to win the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup by overcoming three consecutive top-10 opponents.

With Melbourne experiencing rain for the first time during the tournament, the match took place under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena, creating ideal indoor conditions for the sport’s two most powerful players.

Notably, Sabalenka and Rybakina were the first pair to compete for the title after facing off in the season-ending final since Martina Hingis triumphed over Lindsay Davenport in 1999.

The championship climax shaped as an intriguing showdown, with neither powerhouse combatant dropping a set en route to the final and Sabalenka shading their head-to-head record 8-6 and boasting a phenomenal 26 wins from her past 27 matches at the Open.

But the queen of Melbourne Park was taking on a fearsome foe who had won 19 of her past 20 matches herself and, among active players, only veteran former world No.1 Venus Williams boasts more wins over Sabalenka than Rybakina.

Under seige

And the world No.1 was quickly under siege.

With booming groundstrokes, fifth-seeded Rybakina broke Sabalenka in the opening game of the match, then held to love in a clear early statement.

Rybakina was in trouble at 15-40 in the eighth game but fired down four huge serves to hold for 5-3 before coolly closing out the set.

The first woman since Hingis in 2002 to appear in at least four straight AO finals, Sabalenka had several opportunities to hit back early in the second set but squandered three break points in a 10-minute second game.

Sabalenka finally nabbed her first break of the match with Rybakina serving to stay in the second set at 4-5, the top seed levelling the contest after an hour and 25 minutes.

Fittingly, the first two women to clash in the final without having lost a set in the tournament since Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin in 2008 headed into a decider.

Sabalenka appeared on course for victory after surging to a 3-0 lead, only to dump a backhand into the net to allow Rybakina back on serve.

The lapse led to the world No.1 mentally unravelling as the Kazakh reeled off four straight games and sealed victory with an ace on her first match point after two hours and 18 minutes.

While the 26-year-old rejoiced in becoming a dual grand slam champion, Sabalenka was left to digest suffering back-to-back finals defeats after also losing last year’s title decider to Madison Keys.

As well as walking off with the trophy, Rybakina pocketed a monster cheque for $4.15 million and can look forward to a rankings rise to world No.3 on Monday.

No luck for Aussie doubles pair

Earlier on Saturday, the Australian pair, Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans lost the Australian Open men’s doubles final.

Kubler, partnering with fellow Australian Marc Polmans as plucky wildcards, went down against sixth seeds Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski in two sets in Saturday’s tournament decider.

Becoming the fifth British man to win multiple major doubles titles, former No.1 Skupski defied nerves to serve out the match.

It ends an unforgettable fortnight for newly engaged pair Kubler and Inglis, who between them have pocketed a life-changing $902,350.

If Kubler and Polmans had won the doubles final, that figure would have ballooned to a combined $1.27 million.

Kubler was vying for his second Australian Open men’s doubles crown after teaming up with Rinky Hijikata to win the 2023 final.

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