She came, she served, she aced the doubt away with an expression that said little and a trophy that said everything.
Elena Rybakina’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final was more than another trophy; it was a rebuttal to the injuries, the low patches, and the nagging question of whether she could ever be a multi-slam contender again.
From wobble to winner: how the match swung back in her favour
“I always believed that I can come back to the level I was,”
Elena Rybakina
The final echoed the 2023 decider in more ways than one, with Rybakina winning the first set before Sabalenka clawed back in the second and threatened to take control early in the third. It is the sort of narrative that gives commentators a field day and champions a late-night headache.
Down 0-3 in the final set, Rybakina heard specific instruction from her box and responded. Her coach Stefano Vukov urged she needed “more energy” on serve, and she answered with two timely breaks that changed the momentum and the tone across Rod Laver Arena.
When she found herself serving for the championship at 5-3, Rybakina did not manufacture drama; she flattened it with a decisive ace at 40-30 to seal the match. The point was clinical and oddly restrained, the kind of finish that fits a player who keeps her emotions under tight rein.
Compared with her emotional Wimbledon moment in 2022, this triumph felt composed. Rybakina said she slept better, handled stress more calmly, and let her game do the talking. The result was validation rather than catharsis, and that difference matters to a player building a legacy.
Form, ranking and a warning shot to the top players
Rybakina arrives off a purple patch of results that now have her set to move to No. 3 in the rankings and wearing a fresh confidence. She beat top names during the fortnight, including Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula, and showed an appetite for the biggest matches that rivals cannot ignore.
Her win in Melbourne capped a run that included being the dominant player on tour since last July, with a remarkable stretch of 20 of her past 21 matches won and an unbeaten 10-0 record against Top 10 opponents in recent encounters. Those numbers are not accidental and they hurt to look at if you are on the other side of the net.
There is also the prize money and the sheen that comes with big wins. Rybakina added this major to her 2022 Wimbledon trophy and her late 2025 WTA Finals success, which included a record $5.2 million payday at that event. The ledger now reads opportunity rather than a single lucky week.
Team, controversy and the next targets
The victory also underlines the role of a supporting cast around Rybakina: fitness staff, secondary coaches and, centrally, Stefano Vukov. Despite his suspension troubles last year, she has publicly defended their partnership and credited the team for keeping belief intact during leaner stretches.
Rybakina refused to let off-court noise derail her focus, saying the experience taught her who to trust and left her satisfied with the people around her. She made clear she views Vukov as integral, calling his in-match advice and knowledge of her game an important advantage.
On the tennis to-do list now are Roland Garros and the US Open. Rybakina admitted those tournaments are priorities and that she wants to continue this surge, which means turning flashes of brilliance into a season-long standard of excellence.
Her tone after the trophy lifted was modest and focused rather than triumphalist. That is part temperament and part method; Rybakina processes coaching and information quietly, then executes, which is less flashy and more effective when the margins are thin.
For the sport, this is an encouraging development. A player once dismissed by some as a one-slam wonder now looks like a durable threat to the established order, and her recent form has sent a clear signal that her best years may well be ahead of her.
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Christoph Friedrich is a German tennis player and coach currently residing in Oakland, California. He began his tennis journey at the age of eight and has since dedicated his life to the sport. After working as a tennis coach and hitting partner in New York City for eight years, Christoph decided to share his knowledge and experience with tennis players around the world by creating the My Tennis Expert blog. His goal is to make tennis education accessible to everyone and help players select the best equipment for their game, from racquets and strings to shoes and overgrips. Christoph's extensive research and expertise in tennis technology make him a valuable resource for players of all levels.
