Rivakina and Sabalenka met again in the final after three years following the 2023 Australian Open.
The 2026 Australian Open women’s singles only has the finals left on the 31st. It is a match between attacking players Arina Sabalenka (Belarus) and Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan).
The final match between Sabalenka (world no. 1) and Rybakina (world no. 5) will be held at Melbourne Park, Rod Laver Arena on Saturday at 5:30 PM Korean time (local night game at 7:30 p.m.).
The two players also faced each other in the 2023 Australian Open final, where Sabalenka won and won her first major championship. Sabalenka is in excellent form at the Australian Open, advancing to the finals for four consecutive years. This is a record following Yvonne Goolagong and Martina Hingis since the Open era, and she is aiming to win her third Australian Open title.
On the other hand, Rybakina is showing a remarkable rise, winning 19 out of the last 20 games, and is currently on a 9-game winning streak against top 10 players.
According to the analysis of experts posted on the WTA website, Sabalenka has the upper hand in power. In particular, it boasts an overwhelming win rate of 85% on hard courts. In this competition, he recorded 172 winners, showing the strongest power. The will to avenge the loss in the 2025 finals is also very strong.
Once Rybakina’s serve breaks, no one can beat him. He is showing off the best serving ability on tour by recording 41 serve aces in this tournament. Her momentum is at its peak after defeating powerful players such as Jessica Pegula (USA) and Iga Sibiontech (Poland).
It is expected to be a decisive match for the strongest player in women’s tennis, where the power of ‘Queen of the Hard Court’ Sabalenka and the sophistication of ‘Serve Queen’ Rybakina will clash.
Former doubles world No. 1 Rene Stubbs (Germany) said Rybakina has “one clear advantage” over Sabalenka.
That is the most recent head-to-head victory. Stubbs analyzed through a podcast, “Lybakina has just defeated Sabalenka, so Sabalenka may be afraid of Rybakina in this final.” He also emphasized that Rivakina’s serve is the best in women’s tennis, predicting a high possibility of winning.
Sabalenka is ahead with 8 wins and 6 losses. However, in the most recent match, the 2025 WTA Finals, Rybakina won. Of the four times the two players met in the finals, Rybakina won three of them.
In the beginning (2019-2021), Sabalenka dominated with 4 consecutive wins, but after 2023, Rybakina succeeded in counterattacking and a rivalry was formed.
In the most recent season, 2025, they faced each other a total of four times, each winning two.
Sabalenka and Rybakina’s head-to-head records
In the ‘Who do you think will win?’ poll being conducted on the WTA website, fans predict that Rivakina has the upper hand by about 7 to 3.
[기사제보 tennis@tennis.co.kr]
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